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EDWARD WARREN, M. D

A DOCTOR'S EXPERIENCES

IN

THREE CONTINENTS.

By EDWARD WARREN, M. D., C. M,, LL. D.

BEY BY KHEDIVAL FIRMAN.

Formerly Medical Inspector of the Army of Northern Virginia; more recently Sur-

geon-in- Chief of the War Department of Egypt; Prof essor Emeritus College

of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Md.; Clievalier

of tTie Legion of Honor of France; Commander

of the Order of tlte Osmanieh of

Turkey, <&c., <&c., dc.

IN A SERIES OF LETTEES ADDRESSED TO

JOHN MOREIS, M. D., of BALTIMORE, MD.

BALTIMORE, MD.

CusHiNGS & Bailey, Publishers.

1885.

/.Tt. Jd

^6 7

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1885 by John Mokeis, M. D.,
in the office of the Librarian of Congress.

SYNOPSIS OP LETTERS.

LETTER I.

MY FATHER.

My father — His services in the Confederate army — His po-
litical opinions — His grief over the supposed death of a son
— The wounding of his son at Gettysburg — Meeting of two
brothers — My father's character and characteristics — His
death — Dreams — Spiritualism — Religion.

LETTER II.

MY MOTHER.

8elf-made men — Pride of blood and its effect upon character —
The Innes family — My grandmother — Virginia hospitality
— A temperance"^ hotel — My mother — Her character — My
birthplace — Edenton.

LETTER III.

EARLY DAYS.

School — Death of my dog from grief— The treed Pasha — Visit
to Washington and meeting with Mr. Tyler — His dispute
with the Whig party — Webster's tidelity — The Princeton —
Bursting of her great gun — Mr. Tyler's luck — Miss Gardner
— First night atschool and the fight and friendship which
grew out of it — Dr. George A. Otis — Fighting as a peace
measure.

LETTEia IV.

EARLY DAYS, (Continued.)

Fire-eaters of ante-heUum times — Cowards — Dueling — A church
school and its overdose of religion — The morbid but credu-
lous seminarian — A. night at the seminary — The good luck
it brought me — Mistaken vocations — The great (?) professor
— "S'anity — Ingratitude.

VI SYNOPSIS OF LETTERS.

LETTER XIII.

AT WORK.

The Johnstone family — -Mr. James C. Johnstone — The Rector
— His character and his death — His second daughter, Eliza-
beth Cotton, becomes my wife — We visit Virginia and New
York — Mr. Johnstone presents me with Albania and a
number of negroes.

LETTER XIV.

THE WILL CASE.

Mr. James C. Johnstone's change of sentiments toward his
family — His insanity — His unnatural will — His heirs con-
test— Memorable trial — Adverse verdict and ruin of the
family — Old Edenton after the war — The treason of the
" Colonel " — Incidents of his life.

LETTER XV.

ALBANIA.

Birth of a daughter — The John Brown raid — Command a
military company — Mitchell, the bear hunter — Visit to A'ir-
ginia Springs and meeting with Mr. Johnstone — Joseph M.
Levy — Go to Baltimore as a professor.

LETTER XVI.

THE ROLE OF A PROFESSOR.

Experiences as a teacher — First failure, then success — Profes-
sional and social experiences — The attack of 19th of April
— Death of Mr. Davis — My own narrow escape — Davis'
character.

LETTER XVII.

THE WAR BEGJUN.

Excitement in Baltimore — A memorable Sunday — ]Made chief
surgeon of the municipal forces — Sent on a mission — Ben.
Butler at the Relay House — Ashby — Charles Winder — John
W^inder — Prisoners of war — Richmond and its state of excite-
ment— Governor Letcher — Governor Ellis — Success of mis-
sion— Communications from University of Maryland — Sur-
geon-general of North Carolina navy — Hatteras and its
mementoes.

SYNOPSIS OF LETTERS. VII

LETTER XVIII.

WAR EXPERIENCES.

Eevisit Richmond — Appointed surgeon in Confederate army
— Ordered to the hospital at the University of Virginia —
State of the wounded — Condition of the army — The medical
department — An operation at the hip-joint — Bravery of
the w^ounded — Professor Venable — Professor Coleman — Dr.
Lewis Coleman — Dr. Fairfax — Dr. Moon — Mr. Wirtenbaker
—Dr. John Staige Davis— Dr. J. L. Cabell— Prof. J. B.
Minor.

LETTER XIX.

WAR EXPERIENCES, (Continued.)

Ordered to Richmond and placed on board of examination
and inspection — Pleasant duties and agreeable colleagues; —
Society — Devotion of Southern women — Ordered to North
Carolina— Examination of surgeons — A morbid chairman
— Battle of New Berne — Flight and panic — Made Medical
Director of department of Cape Fear — Visit to Richmond
— Dr. L. Guild — Mechanicsville— General Lee — Appointed
Medical Director, but decline — Made Medical Inspector —
The morning after the fight — Malvern Hill — Laurel Grove
and its associations — Return to North Carolina — Write a
manual of military surgery.

LETTER XX.

SURGEON-GENERAL OF NORTH CAROLINA.

Hon. Z. B. Vance elected Governor of North Carolina — Ap-
pointed Surgeon-General of the State — Dr. T. J. Boykin —
Work done for the soldiers — An epidemic of small-pox
stamped out — Pleasant relations with the governor — His
fine character and loyal conduct — His visit to the Army of
Northern Virginia — North Carolina's contribution to the
war — Fort Fisher and its fall.

LETTER XXI.

EXCITING ADVENTURE AT KINSTON.

Narrow escape from death and capture — Arrival at Golds-
borough — Preparation for serious work — General G. W.
Smith takes command and appoints me Medical Director —
Retreat of Foster — Colonel Moses and Governor Vance's
dispatch — Governor Vance's kindness to prisoners of war
at Salisbury — A train of wounded soldiers.

Vlll SYNOPSIS OF LETTERS.

LETTEE XXII.

MISSION TO GENERAL SHERMAN.

Governor Vance's distress at Lee's surrender — His efforts to
preserve Raleigh — His commission to General Sherman —
Exciting adventures — Return to Raleigh — The dejDOt in
flames — Kilpatrick baffled — His life attempted by maraud-
ers— Their fate.

LETTER XXIII.

COLONEL BAYLOR, U. S. A.

Kind reception by Colonel Baylor — Generals Blair and Sco-
field as Union constructors — General Sherman's conserva-
tism in North Carolina — He keeps faith with the State com-
missioners— Embarrassed by Lincoln's death and Johnson's
accession — His grand review — Return home — Contrabands
— Edenton after the war.

LETTER XXIV.

BALTIMORE AFTER THE WAR.

Return to Baltimore — Changes — The wolf at the door — Four
friends come to the rescue — The Levy will case — A favor-
able verdict and a reduced legacy — Sunshine again — New
medical schools, and a bitter controversy — A memento of
the war — Medico-legal cases — The friendless Confederate
— The condemned negress.

LETTER XXV.

THE WHARTON CASE.

The AVharton case — Interview with Mr. Thomas — Argument
submitted to him — Mr. Steele — The trial at Annapolis —
Cross-questioned by Mr. Syester — A bombshell in com-t.

LETTER XXVL

THE WHARTON CASE, (Continued.)

A battery turned — A witness stumbles — Attacked in the rear
— Letters from Alfred Swain Taylor and Thomas Stevenson
supporting ni}?^ position — Victorious at Annai^olis, but ruined
in Baltimore— The potency of popular prejudice — Sympathy
of the American Medical Association — Fidelity — Grief for
my boy.

SYNOPSIS OF LETTERS. IX

LETTER XXYII.

SEEKING A NEW FIELD.

Seek a professorship elsewhere — Letters from Doctors Gross
and McGuff^' — Enter the service of the Khedive — Given
a dinner at Barnum's — William joins me at Jersey City —
Some account of William Hughes, my faithful servant —
Hats versus tarbouches — Ophthalmia and flies — Acquisition
of foreign languages — Fishing for a compliment and catch-
ing a Tartar.

LETTEE XXVIII.

UNDER THE KHEDIVE.

Sail from New York in the Abyssinia — My illness and Will-
iam's adventure at Liverpool — Sir James Paget — Paris in
mourning — To Brindisi under difficulties — Alexandria and
Gabara — Cairo in a khampseen — Egypt — Its religion and
customs — The Copts — Achmet Fahmy, the dragoman — His
conversion — Loss of our baby — Amoonah, his nurse — Her
fidelity and devotion — An attack of ophthalmia.

LETTER XXIX.

IN EGYPT.

Hareems — Mothers — Divorces — The captain's dilemma — Mus-
tahalls and their vocation — A demonstrative patient — The
penalty of seeing a woman's uncovered face — A bey's in-
trigue and its results — Domestic life.

LETTER XXX.

EGYPTIAN EXPEEIENCES.

Tewfick Pasha, the present Khedive — Ismail Pasha, the late
Khedive — His services — His return necessary and inevitable
— General Loring's hospitality — A summer at Gabara — Gen-
eral Sibley — Colonel Jenifer— The Reynolds, father and son
— Major Campbell — A pilfering comrade — My first patient
— My successful treatment of the Minister of War — His
history.

X SYNOPSIS OF LETTERS.

LETTER XXXI.

EGYPTIAN EXPERIENX'ES, (Continued.)

An insane patient — Popular ideas respecting lunatics and
idiots — Amein Pasha and his medical bill — Promotion —
Examining recruits — Furloughed soldiers and veterans —
The gratitude of the latter — Attempts at bribery — The
Prince's perplexity — Forewarned of a plot for my destruc-
tion— Narrow escape — Dr. Abbate-Bey — Dr. J. J. Crane.

LETTER XXXII.

A FURLOUGH.

A six months' "leave" — A rival surgeon-general and his vic-
tims— The snake charmers — Start for Paris — English gen-
tlemen— General Mott — Doctor Landolt — Return to Eg\'pt
prohibited — Made a Licentiate of the University of France
— Honorably discharged from the Eg^qDtian army — A bless-
ing in disguise — Eunuchs — ]My first patient in Paris — Made
" Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic."

LETTER XXXIII.

LIFE IN PARIS.

The evening visitor — Nature's nobleman — The sympathetic
friend — A typhoid case — The daily narcotic — The startling
discovery — Adroit robbery — "Help me, Doctor" — A dis-
gusted banker — The prompt arrest — Mazas — Release and
restitution — An amazed convalescent.

*
LETTER XXXIV.

LIFE IN PARIS, (Continued.)

Distinguished patients — Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks — His
a]Dpearance and character — General Grant — Estimate of his
character — His devotion to his friends — General Torbert — :
His character and fate — Judge Noah Davis — Judge John
E. Brady — Hon. S. Teakle Wallis — Lady "Anna Gore-Lang-
ton — Visit to London — English mode of j)aying medical
bills — Dignity of French physicians — Medical fees — Injus-
tice to physicians — Advice to patients.

SYNOPSIS OF LETTERS. XI

LETTER XXXV.

LIFE IN PAEI8, (Continued.)

Professional success — Calumnies — Libelous newspaper clip-
pings— Defamation in France — Secret denunciations, &c. —
Police espionage — Scandal agencies — Hotel leeches — The
Exposition of 1878 — Great sorrow — The Cross of the Legion
of Honor — Other decorations — The degree of LL. D. — De-
votion to North Carolina — Love of native land — America
as contrasted with other countries.

PREFACE.

Responding to the persuasions of partial friends
and loving children, I have written a history of my
life, and now present it to the world in the form of
this series of familiar letters.

I have been prompted to the venture neither by
an idle vanity nor a vaunting egotism, but mainly
by the conviction that, in experiences so unique
and yet so diversified as mine have been, there
must necessarily be embodied much that is calcu-
lated to impress, interest and instruct both the
medical profession and the general public.

At the same time a sense of justice to myself and
to others constrains the confession, that a desire ta
elaborate and perpetuate the record of my strangely
eventful life has constituted no insignificant factor
in the motives which have influenced the perform-
ance of this task. I know that to the hypercritical
this will seem only a phase of the selfish considera-
tions which I have disclaimed in the premises ; but,
unmindful of their censure, I shall trust to the
more generous to interpret it properly — to at-
tribute it to the suggestions of that honest pride
and honorable ambition which the peculiar circum-
stances of the case have served to develop and to
legitimate.

The title selected for the book is suggestive alike
of its character and its scope, since it recounts the
history of a career in which the domination of a
strange but imperious destiny has manifested itself
in the transformation of a country doctor into a

XIV PREFACE.

Professor, a Surgeon-General and a Chevalier of the
Legion of Honor, and the transference of the scene
of his labors from the swamps of Carolina to the
shores of the Chesapeake, the borders of the Nile
and the quartiers of the Seine.

I have selected the espistolary method of com-
munication with my readers, because it is that
form of communication with which I am most fa-
miliar, while it admits of a freedom of style and a
latitude of narration which seem best suited to an
autobiography.

T dedicate this work to my honored colleague.
Doctor John Morris, for the reason that, as ray
mind reverts to the scenes of the past, he looms
up most conspicuously as the friend of their shade
and their sunshine, and it is to him that my heart
instinctively offers the amplest tribute of its love
and gratitude.

Paris, June 1, 1885.

A DOCTOR'S EXPERIENCES

IN

THREE CONTINENTS.

LETTER L

MY FATHER.

My Dear Doctor :

When you met my father in Baltimore just after
the war, yon saw in him the ruins of a remarkable
man. He was then only sixty-five years of age,
and up to the beginning of the conflict he had
been unusually vigorous. But the four years of
exile from home, of anxiety on account of his
sons — all of whom were in the Southern army —
and of unremitting attention to the sick and
wounded under his charge, together with the total
loss of his property and the utter ruin of his sec-
tion, broke him' down completely. Although an
^'old-line Whig," and originally opposed to se-
cession, when the issue was definitely made between
the North and the South, and the sacred soil of
Virginia — his " Mother State " and the object of
his supreme devotion — was actually invaded, he
never hesitated a moment ; but, abandoning his
business, his property, and his home, he joined his
fortunes with those of the Confederacy, and ac-
cepted a surgeon's commission in its service. He
did his duty faithfully, but he came out of the con-

16 A doctor's experiences

flict shattered in body, prostrated in spirit, and in-
capable of any serious exertion.

Nothing contributed more to this result than the
wounding and the supposed death of one of his boys.
Crittenden^ his fourth son, who was at that time
oiily eighteen years of age, and a lieutenant in the
^' flag company " of the Fifty-second North Caro-
lina Regiment — a position to which he had been
elevated from the ranks for conspicuous bravery —
was in the final and fatal charge at Gettysburg.

Two days after that fearful battle my father re-
ceived a letter from one of the survivors of his
son's company to the effect that he saw '^ Lieuten-
ant Warren killed, with the colors of the regiment
in his hands, within a few yards of the enemy's
works ;" and in a short time other letters arrived
from officers of the regiment, confirming this state-
ment in the most positive manner. As he was a
noble boy, this intelligence utterly prostrated his
parents, and they abandoned themselves to grief.
About four weeks afterward a letter arrived by
flag of truce from a comrade, saying "Lieutenant
Warren was not killed outright, but was mortally
wounded, and is now dying in one of the Federal
hospitals at Gettysburg." This communication
brought no consolation with it, although it did in-
spire some faint hope — just enough to torture the
aching hearts of those who loved him. Then came
an additional source of anxiety. Another son was

missing.

Dr. Llewellyn P. Warren, senior surgeon of Pet-
tigrew's Brigade, had been left with the wounded
of his command, and nothing had since been heard
of him. In vain did we try by all possible means
to obtain some information respecting the fate of
our loved ones ; and you can well understand how
dreadful was this state of suspense and anxiety to

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 17

US all, but especially to our father and mother.
Days which seemed like 3^ears, weeks that appeared
to have no ending, passed away, and when hope
had died, and despair had set its seal upon the
hearts of the weary watchers, like light from
heaven, a letter came from one of Baltimore's fair-
•est daughters — sent surreptitiously through the
lines — conveying the joyful intelligence that Llew.
had accidentally discovered his wounded brother,
-and with loving care had snatched him from the
jaws of death ; that Crittenden was slowlj^ but
surely recovering ; and that both had been trans-
ferred to Fort McHenry, where friends were min-
istering to their comfort in every way that sym-
pathy could suggest. 1 need scarcely tell you of
the prayers of gratitude which were offered up,
and of the joy which reigned in my father's heart
•and house on that occasion ; for it was as if the
very portals of the grave had been opened, and
the dead had arisen and come forth "to walk
with living men again." My brothers were ex-
changed after many months of captivity, and
:an examination of Crittenden's wounds revealed
the fact that five conical balls had entered his
body, one of which had passed entirely through
the upper lobe of the right lung. According
to his account, when within a short distance of
the enemy's line, he seized the colors from the
hands of a dying sergeant, and with his first
step forward received what seemed to him a fear-
ful blow in the breast, and he fell senseless to
the ground. He knew nothing more until he
was aroused by the rough shake of a Federal
soldier, who, seeing that life was not extinct, gave
him a drink of water, placed his cap under his
head as a pillow, and muttering, " Poor boy, this
is the last of you," went forward to his duty. He

18 A doctor's experiences

then lapsed into a state of unconsciousness, which
finally passed into a dream of -the charge so vivid
and real that it seemed that he was for hour^
storming the enemy's line with balls whistling
and shells bursting and comrades falling around
him, while his chest felt as if it were encircled with
an iron band which interfered with respiration and
almost deprived him of the power of speech.
When he came to himself again it was in the
early morning, and a group of surgeons were
standing about him while one was examining his
wounds, who, seeing that he had regained con-
sciousness, asked his name, told him to prepare for
death as his wounds were mortal, and said to him :
"'I know your brother by reputation, and if you
have any last message to send to your family tell
it to me, and I will have it delivered in time. My
heart bleeds for you and yours, my poor boy. " ' ' Say
to them at home," gasped the dear fellow, "that
I tried to do my duty, and tell my mother " — here
he lost consciousness again, and was unable to
complete the sentence. Although the surgeons re-
garded the case as desperate, they did not leave
him to die alone in the grass where he had fallen, but
they had him carefully lifted into an ambulance and
transported to the nearest field-hospital, where he
was placed under a shelter hastily improvised of
fence-rails, and given food, stimulants, and an
opiate — the jolting of the vehicle over the newly-
ploughed field having restored him to conscious-
ness, and caused him the most intense suffering.
During the night a new j^eril presented itself: the
stream which ran through the hospital suddenly
swelled beyond its borders, and with resistless
impetus swept a large number of the wounded to
destruction. He, fortunately, was just beyond the
invaded area and was saved, while one of his own

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 19^

men — a poor lad reared near my plantation in
North Carolina — who lay wounded and helpless by
his side, was swept away by the flood. As he did
not die, he was removed after a few days to a divi-
sion hospital, which was well constructed and
abundantly supplied. Here he was allowed two
slightly wounded men from his own company as
nurses, supplied liberally with nutritious soup and
good bread, and given a dose of morphia every
night at bed time ; but his \vounds were not dressed,
and his bloody and matted clothing was never
changed until he was discovered and taken charge
of by my brother, Dr. L. P. Warren, more than two
weeks after the battle. There was no intentional
inhumanity in this, for in every other respect he
was kindly treated, but it resulted simply from the
fact, that when brought from the field he was
placed on the list of the ''mortally wounded," and
as surgeons were scarce and wounded men abund-
ant, he was left to die in peace without the addi-
tional pang of a surgical dressing. This view
of the case proved ''a blessing in disguise" — was
a circumstance so fortunate in itself and in its
consequences as to bear the aspect of a special dis-
pensation— for the lung wound, consequently,
sealed itself hermetically, while the non-interven-
tion of the doctors perpetuated that condition of
quiescence which was most favorable to its cicatriza-
tion.

My brother, Dr. L. P. Warren, tells me, that
after he had given his services to all of the wounded
who had been left in his charge, he obtained per-
mission to visit the Federal hospitals, hoping to
find something to do in the way of rendering as-
sistance to such of the Southern wounded as might,
perchance, have been received in them. He had
heard, too, of the death of his brother, but there

20 A doctor's experiences

still lingered in his bosom a hope of finding him
alive, and of being the instrument of his rescue and
return.

He was making his final visit, and had passed
the last ward, when he suddenly heard his name
called and saw, running toward him, two soldiers
whom he recognized as having belonged to the 52d
North Carolina Regiment. In a moment they had
embraced him, and were dragging him toward a
little hut near by, crying out : "The Lieutenant
is not quite dead. Come, for God's sake, and save
him." Upon entering the pavilion he saw u])on
a rude couch the form of fi human being, attenu-
ated, wan, with sunken cheeks and lusterless eyes,
apparently in the throes of death, which he recog-
nized to be that of his brother, so long lost and so
deeply mourned — the dear boy over whom a stricken
household far away in the South was shedding its
bitterest tears, and, like Rachel of old, refusing to
be comforted.

Imagine, my dear Doctor, if you can, what were
the feelings of these two brothers when they thus
met in that distant land, remote from friends and
kindred, the one supposing that the clods already
covered the remains of him he loved so well, and
the other believing that he would never behold the
face or hear the voice of any one from home again.
Surely a scene more touching than this was never
witnessed by mortal man, and the rough soldiers
around them bowed their heads in silent awe, and
wept like children.

After many weary days of anxiety and watching,
Llewellyn had the gratification of seeing the
wounds heal kindly, the wasted frame grow com-,
paratively strong, and the blanched cheek lose its
pallor and glow with the hues of health again. In a
word, the boy's life was saved ; and though for

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 21

years be felt the effects of his wounds, he is now a
healthy and vigorous man — as splendid a specimen
of physical development as can be found in the
South .

This incident with its alternations of despair and
hope, its vicissitudes of sorrow and satisfaction ,
though crowned in the end with all that could be
conceived of happiness, proved too great a strain
upon my father's nerves, and initiated the under-
mining of his once vigorous system. It was not
long afterward that I noticed an occasional inter-
mittencein his pulse, and a pronounced development
of the arcus senilis, while a condition of despond-
ency became the fixed habit of his mind, and several
severe attacks of malarial fever ensued, which still
further exhausted his vitality.

I wish you could have seen him in his prime —
in the full swing of his powers, and the flood tide
of his success. As you did not have that pleasure^
and as the contemplation of his gifts and virtues is
always a source of satisfaction to me, you w^ll
pardon, 1 feel assured, a brief sketch of him here —
you will permit me to reproduce upon these pages
the outlines, at least, of the picture which an ardent
love, conjoined with the most profound respect,
has painted upon the tablets of my memory.

His father, Edward Warren, for whom I was
named, was a lawyer of distinction and a gentle-
man of the highest standing. He was regarded,
in fact, as the leader of the bar in his section of
Virginia, and he several times represented Charles
City County in the Legislature of Virginia, having
been elected by the unanimous vote of his constitu-
ency— which, in that land of politics and partisans,
was a very high compliment. He unfortunately
died young, leaving to his wife the task of rearing
and educating his four children, the eldest of

22 A doctor's experiences

whom was William Christian, the subject of this
sketch.

His mother belonged to the Christian family of
Viro^inia, and she well illustrated the sterlinsr vir-
tues and decided opinions for which it has long
been distinguished . How faithfully she discharged
this duty is established alike by the sentiment of
love and i-everence with which she inspired her
children, and by the reputation which each one of
them established in after life for honor and probity
in all relations. I well remember my visits to
Greenway — the seat of the family — when a child,
and of the awe and love with which I regarded her.
Scrupulously neat in dress ; tall and stately in per-
son ; observing the strictest decorum and etiquette
herself, and exacting the same from others ; grave
and reserved to the last degree, but never morose
or fault-finding ; with a countenance upon which
neither a smile nor a tear ever lingered ; and the
embodiment alike of superlative dignit}^ of char-
acter and of extreme kindness of heart, her pres-
ence and her manner frightened me nearly out of
my wits, while her tenderness and consideration
called out my warmest affection.

My father being her eldest child, she looked upon
him as the future prop of the house, and she took
especial pains to indoctrinate him with her own
high principles, and to give him a thorough educa-
tion. So great was his respect for her that he ac-
cepted her teachings without questioning, while
the desire to please her became and continued the
ruling principle of his life.

It is not surprising that, with such a mother, his
bosom should have become the nurser}' of all that
gives dignity to human nature, and that he should
have developed into the splendid gentleman he was,
and which all who knew him recognized him to be.

m THREE CONTINENTS. 23

He stood about six feet in his shoes, and, though
eot stout, was well proportioned and very graceful ;
he was as erect as a Lombardy poplar, and his car-
riage was that of a trained soldier ; he always ap-
peared neat and well clad, displaying, in fact, great
taste in the matter of dress and personal adorn-
ment ; he was especially fond of dogs and horses —
as all Virginians are — and he prized only those of
the best blood and the finest appearance ; he was
brave to a fault, and as chivalrous as any knight of
the olden time ; he was the soul of generosity, and
the latch-string was always on the outside of his
hospitable door ; he loved his family to idolatry
and was the mostfaithful and loyal of friends ; he was
a diligent student, keeping himself always au cour-
mit with the progress of his profession, and his
fondness for general literature was extraordinary
for one so occupied with business ; he was a man
of strong feelings, and in his early years he could
not bring himself to bear the semblance of an af-
front, but later on, when his heart had been wrung
by affliction, a great change occurred in this re-
gard, and he became a devout and consistent Chris-
tian ; and he was truly a great physician — per-
fectly posted, a keen observer, remembering every-
thing he had seen and read, with a cool head and
a warm heart, wedded to no dogma, absorbed in his
mission, indifferent to praise or censure, and abso-
lutely self-reliant ; he entered the chamber of sick-
ness with the manner of a master, the mien of a
friend, and the bearing of a gentleman, inspiring
his patient at once with faith and hope, and show-
ing in the treatment of the case a capacity for
analysis, a genius in diagnosis, and a fecundity of
resource, which have rarely had their equal in the
profession.

Alike in Tyrrell, where he commenced his career,

24: ~ A doctor's EXPERIENCES

in Eden ton, where for so many years he devoted
himself to his calling, and in Lynchburg, where
his latter days were spent, his character as a man
and his qualifications as a physician were appreci-
ated in the manner and to the extent that I have
indicated. No man, in fact, was ever brought into
intimate relations with my father without realizing
that his ideas of human excellence had been given
a broader range and a higher development.

On the occasion of his death, which occurred at
Lynchburg, Virginia, in December, 1871, business
was universally suspended, and the people of the
place, without distinction of race or color, followed
his remains to their final resting place ; while, in
the language of a contemporary journal, "every
tongue proclaimed : Well done thou good and
faithful servant! And all realized that there was
buried that day a noble specimen of the old Vir-
ginia gentleman." .

To the children of such a man bis memory must
remain fresh and o;reen forever, must prove a leg-
acy more precious far than " titles or estates," and
an inspiration to high thoughts and honorable
lives, to which their hearts can but respond in the
fullest measure to their last pulsations.

You know that I am no believer in the super-
natural, and yet I must confess that tivice in my
life I have permitted myself to be influenced by
dreams in deciding questions of importance. To
one of these instances I will refer in this connection,
and will reserve the other for a different place in
these memoirs.

In January, 1873^ I received, through General
Sherman, the offer of a position in the Egyptian
army. Although I had sought this position, yet^
when the offer really came, I was greatly per-
plexed as to whether or not to accept it. After

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 25

debating the question with myself throughout the
day, I retired to rest in a very excited and uncer-
tain state of mind. For a long time sleep was an
impossibility, but finally, as day dawned I lost
consciousness for a brief period and sank into an
uneasy slumber, from which I awakened suddenly,
greatly impressed by a very vivid and protracted
dream.

It seemed that I was in the old mansion at Eden-
ton when my father — who had then been dead for
more than two years — came into my room and asked
me to walk with him, as he wished "to discuss the
Egyptian question." Apparently, we walked and
talked for several hours, and then returned to the
house with the matter still undecided. He urged
me to accept the ofier, and used every possible ar-
gument to convince me of the wisdom of the change,
and finally he said, in decided and solemn tones:
"My son, I command you to go." These words
settled the matter, and I completed my arrange-
ments and took my departure, possessed by the
idea that in some way I was gratifying my father.
At any rate it turned out "for the best ;" it proved
a new departure in the direction of prosperity and
success, and but for the profound impression pro-
duced by this dream, or coincidence, or whatever it
may be called, I should have remained in Balti-
more, enjoying the pleasure of your society, it is
true, but wasting my life in college broils and pro-
fessional rivalries.

Of course, believers in spiritualism would find
an immediate explanation of this incident, but hav-
ing no faith in their creed, it is impossible for me
to acqept their conclusions. What do you think
about it?

My skepticism in this connection will not sur-
prise you after I have related my subsequent ex-

.26 A doctor's experiences

periences with spiritualism, or rather, after I have
recalled to your mind certain incidents about which
I have talked to you by the hour in other days.

Some years since I went to the house of a gen-
tleman of prominence in Baltimore — who was then
completely carried away with this '^new revela-
tion"— to witness certain "manifestations," which
he assured me would be patent and conclusive.
The company consisted of about a dozen persons,
and we were invited into a darkened room, given
seats around a circular table, and asked to clasp
hands so as to ''complete the circuit," and to re-
main perfectly silent. After a short delay our old
friend Weaver, the undertaker, who, it seems, af-
fected great faith in spiritualism and frequented all
of its circles, suddenly arose from his seat, gesticu-
lating wildly and uttering a strange shriek, which
we were told was a "war-whoop," and indicated
that he was possessed by the "spirit of an Indian. ' "
The lights were turned on, and an effort was made
to ascertain the name of the particular savage who
was thus exciting to frenzy the burly body of the
coffin-maker. One suggested Powhatan, another
Billy Bowlegs, another Tecumseh, and so on until
the entire roll of notorious Indians was called over ;
but there was a negative shake of the head at each
name suggested, while the gesticulations became
more frantic and the so-called "war-whoop" grew
longer and louder. Finally an idea struck me, for
I had become greatly exercised in regard to the
identity of the unfortunate redskin who was trying
to give expression to his sentiments in the gyra-
tions and yells of the medium, and I boldly asked,
"Is it the great Blennerhasset^ " A smile of sat-
isfaction illuminated the countenance of the de-
lighted Weaver; a wild "Yah! Yah! Yah!" of
assent substituted itself for the angry and defiant

m THREE CONTINENTS. 27

^^ war-whoop," and the secret was disclosed — the
^' great unknown " stood revealed. The genial and
gentle Blennerhasset — he ''whose shrubbery a
8henstone might have envied," and over whose
misfortunes so many tears have been shed — was
the '' untamed" Indian whose spirit had mani-
fested itself in the flesh of the undertaker. The
host and his «;uests, all true believers, never "saw
the point" or had the slightest suspicion of its ex-
istence ; and while the}^ were devoting themselves to
reciprocal congratulations over the facts of spirit-
ualism as thus revealed and were questioning the
savage, through his chosen medium, concerning
tomahawks, scalping-knives, and war-dances, I
slipped away, anything but a converted man.

You remember our friend, William H. Owens,
who frequently represented his ward in the city
council, and whose untimely death by apoplexy we
both deplored. Well, the poor fellow had the mis-
ibrtune to lose his only son — a beautiful boy about
ten years of age — shortly after the war, and at first
it nearly broke his heart. He sought consolation,
however, in spiritualism, and he found it, for he
became convinced that the spirit of his son was in
€onstant communication with him. He assured me
that he could realize his presence, and hear his
voice as plainly as he had ever done in life. He,
consequent!}^, became perfectly tranquil and re-
signed, because, as he said to me : '' the fate of the
dear little fellow is settled. He can never suffer
pain or sickness again, and he tells me that he is
perfectly happy." •

Hi all other respects he seemed entirely rational ,
while this delusion was to him an absolute reality.
Some years afterward, as you well know, I suf-
fered a similar calamity, and was in utter des]iair.
Owens immediately came to my house, and insisted

28 A doctor's experiences

that I should rejoice rather than weep^ assuring me
that he had positive information from his son that
my dear boy was happy, and spent his time at my
side, telling me " not to cry for him," but that I
could not hear his voice because I did not believe
in spiritual manifestations. God alone will ever
know how my heart leaped at these words. '^ Be-
lieve," said I ; "if you will only give me the slight-
est proof upon which I can hang a belief — let me
hear a single word from my son — I shall worship
you to the end of my days."

"I don't want that, but I would like to help
you," he answered, very quietly; "and I give
you my word that you shall have a communica-
tion from him which will convince you of the
truth of what I have told you. Only wait for
two weeks, and I will take you to a person who
will be the medium of this conversation."

I was amazed, bewildered crazed, by these words,
coming as they did from a man whom I knew to be
honest, and to believe what he said ; and I waited for
his coming with feelings such as those which the apos-
tles must have experienced when they watchedfor the
resurrection of their Lord. Finally he came, and
took me to a house in Courtland street, near Pleas-
ant, where we were ushered into a darkened room,
and I was presented to a female reclining upon a sofa,
apparently just issuing from a fit of catalepsy, or
hysteria, or something else.

"This lady," said my friend, "is a reliable
medium." She has just arrived in Baltimore, and
I have purposely avoided telling her your history,
but you can place implicit faith in anything that
she may say to you. He then withdrew, and left
us alone, she apparently oblivious to what was going
on around her, and / in a state of excitement
bordering on insanity.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 29

After a delay of some moments she seemed to re-
cover consciousness, and to become aware of my
presence, when, in response to her stare of suprise
and inquiry, I said to her: " Madam, I am not an
idle intruder, but an anxious inquirer ; I wish to
communicate with the spirit of one most dearly
loved. Can you aid me in doing so ?"

She rolled up her eyes until their whites alone
were visible, swayed her body to and fro, and an-
swered, "Yes, I can help you, for the spirit of the
^loved one' wishes earnestly to speak to you."

" What message have you for me? Tell me at
once, I entreat you," said I, hardly able to con-
l^ain myself.

"Your sainted mother bids me to say to you,"
she began.

"My mother^ madam!" I exclaimed, "She is
alive and well."

"Ah! excuse my inattention, "Your sainted
father requests me," she resumed.

^' M.y father, madam!" I cried out, "he is in
perfect health — and the truth is, you are either an
utter fraud or you are hopelessly drunk," and I
precipitately left the room, cursing the fatuity
which had induced me to ignore the suggestions
of common sense, and to place myself in a position
thus to have the most sacred sentiments of my
heart trampled upon and mocked at by a lunatic
upon the one side and an impostor on the other.

I did not stop in my hurried flight to explain
matters to poor Owens, who waited below to receive
my thanks and to hear my confession of faith ; and,
when I next heard of him, he had fallen in a fit of
apoplexy, and had died without a struggle. It is evi-
dent that, in this regard, he was insane — that he
was a thorough-paced maniac on the subject of
spiritualism.

30 A doctor's experiexces

I said in the premises that I was a skey)tic in this
regard, and I am sure you will agree with me that,
after such experiences as these — the one essentially
ridiculous, and the other so inexpressibly painful —
I have good grounds for my want of faith in this
heresy.

My youngest daughter, to whom I have just read
these pages, says that the good Lord sent the
dream and put my father into it in order to guide
me into the right path in regard to the Egyptian
proposition, and that the spirits had nothing to do
with the matter. In a word, her idea — expressed
in more technical language — is that it was a Provi-
dential interposition, and not a spiritualistic mani-
festation, which may be the true explanation, for
what we know to the contrary. At any rate, it is a
sagacious discrimination upon the part of a little
girl — the child that you so skillfully brought into
the world some twelve years since — and it shows
as well that the seeds of faith and trust, which her
mother sought to plant in her youthful heart, were
not wasted and are germinating there. God grant
that their roots may grow stronger and sink deeper
continually, and that no adverse storm may ever
disturb their firm hold upon her gentle nature.

I have traveled far and seen much, and suf-
fered greatly, but the longer I live and the more
comprehensive my experience becomes the greater
is my faith in religion, and the stronger is my con-
viction of its necessity alike for the happiness of
the individual, the stability of society, and the
welfare of the world.

I make it a point to seize the first opportunity
whicli presents itself in these memoirs, thus clearly
and decidedly to express myself upon this import-
ant subject, because infidelity seems to have be-
come the prevailing fashion of the times, and the

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 31

special boast of our profession ; and I desire to
place upon record my sentiments and opinions in
this regard, and to leave them as a legacy to my
cliildren, as a souvenir to my friends and as a les-
son to my enemies, with the hope that all may
profit by them. The man whose profession brings
him for a lifetime into daily contact with the mis-
fortunes of humanity, must take refuge either in a
profound callousness, which refuses to look beyond
itself and dwarfs his character and contracts his
intellect until a condition of mingled selfishness
and incapacity is reached, or in an exalted faith
which seeks the " final cause " of its surroundings,
and through it attains to the idea of future retri-
bution and of God's final justice and loving kind-
ness. He is compelled to attribute the harrowing
scenes with which he is thus made familiar to the
fiat of a being who possesses either the qualities of
a devil-seeking vengeance, or the attributes of a
God having as a purpose the ultimate rectification
of a work- which he is compelled to do in the
vindication of his governmental policy.

32 A doctor's experiences

LETTER II.

MY MOTHER.

My Dear Doctor :

It is natural to respect a self-made man — one
who, without the advantage of family or fortune,
rises by the force of his own character and genius
to the level of those who originally were his supe-
riors. The founder of a house really deserves and
certainlycommands as much of the world's esteem as
the descendant, who, by the mere accident of birth,
inherits it with its Lares and Penates. He who fal-
lows and sows is universally regarded as the equal,
at least, of him who reaps and garners.

It is perfectly legitimate that success in the ac-
cumulation of wealth, or the attainment of posi-
tion, or tlie acquisition of honors should engender
an honest pride in the bosom of the man who has
commanded it — of him who has conquered the
adverse circumstances of his lot, and, in despite of
opposing obstacles, has attained the realization of
his hopes and reached the summit of his ambition.
And yet, my dear doctor, there is a principle in
every man's heart which prompts him to glor^^ in
the fact that his ancestors w^ere men of recognized
ability and standing : that the blood which cir-
culates in his veins has been refined and purified
by having flowed through those of a race of gentle-
men. Nothing is more gratifying to human pride
or more elevating to human character than to be
able to trace back one's forefathers through succes-

IN THEEE CONTINENTS. 33

sive generationsof unquestioned probity and recog-
nized position. The humblest representative of
distinguished progenitors can but feel a tide of
satisfaction rise high in the bosom when he reflects
upon his connection with them, and he intuitively
seeks to follow their example and to transmit the
name which he bears, and they have honored, still
unstained to posterity.

It is true that success sometimes makes a fool of
the individual who has achieved it. The pride to
which he is entitled because of his victory over
an adverse fate, degenerates into a contemptible
vanity; he thinks that he has ''the world in a
sling;" he affects the style of the peacock with the
same mode of manifestation ; his proportions swell
beyond the capacity of his tailor's measurement
and estimate ; his alphabet loses all its letters save
one and that is a personal pronoun ; his supercilious-
ness overrides all rules alike of propriety and of
o:ood-breeding: ; he i2:nores the ladder bv which he
has ascended to his new position, and claims it by
virtue of some prescriptive right or inherent des-
ignation ; and he assumes an air of superiority
and a style of grandeur which make him a butt to
society, a terror to his friends, and a disgrace to
his kind. I have seen many such "on their
travels," and as they assumed to be representatives
•of the supreme social development of America,
and the most exalted type of manhood among
their countrymen, they have made me wish a
thousand times over that shoddyism was a peniten-
tiary offense at home, and tha.t ^' les nouvenux
riches'' were compelled by a law of Congress to
confine themselves to their native shores. Fortu-
nately, this variety of the self-made man is the ex-
ception and not the rule, and the disgust and con-
tempt which it inspires should not detract from
8

34 ■ A doctor's experiences

the honor and the respect so properly due to those
who have honestly and really elevated themselves
to commanding positions in life, and who have the
wisdom to understand their surroundings and to
appreciate their antecedents.

I know, also, that there are scions of many a
noble house who are by nature dwarfs and para-
sites, and whose arrogant assumptions elicit uni-
versal contempt and disgust. I acknowledge, too,
that pride of birth loses all of its dignity and pres-
tige when it steps a hair's breadth beyond its
legitimate limits — when it becomes aught else than
a source of private and personal gratification be-
cause of the inheritance of a prouder name and of
bluer blood than others, and an incentive to walk
in the path which illustrious scions "have found
or have made " for their descendants.

It has been under the influence of such senti-
ments as these that I have spoken of my father
and his family, and it is in response to the sug-
gestion of similar feelings that I shall now give you
some account of ray mother^ and of those from
whom she has inherited the virtues which adorn
her character. I may speak with enthusiasm, but
it is the enthusiasm of a son who knows and ap-
preciates ''the mother who bore him, "and who
has made him what he is, or rather, has taught
him what he should be. Thank God ! she still
lives, having long since passed the aUoted boundary
of human existence, wdth an intellect upon which
time has left no shadow, and a heart which has
only grown the more tender and loving under the
strain of life's trials and vicissitudes.

She was born at Snowden, the ancient seat of her
family, in Stafford County, Virginia, on the Sth of
January, 1808. Her father was Thomas Alexan-
der, and her mother Elizabeth Innes, the daughter

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 35

of Judge Harry Innes, of Kentucky— eacli belonging
to an old and distinguished family. Thomas
Alexander was the great grandson of John Alexan-
der, whose father was William Alexander, of
Menstrie, Scotland. This remarkable man be-
longed to the family of the Macdonalds, Lords of
the Isles, and his career was a most distinguished
one. He was knighted by King James, and
granted the entire territory of Nova Scotia in 1621 ;
he was sworn in of the privy council, and appointed
Secretary of State, in 1626 ; he was made keeper
of the signet in 1627 ; he was given charters of
the lordship of Canada, and made a commissioner
of the exchequer, in 1628 ; 'he was created Lord
Alexander of Tullibody in 1630 ; he was appointed
oneof the extralords of session in 1631, and he was
raised to the dignity of Earl of Stirling and Viscount
Canada, by patent dated June 14th, 1633. As a
special mark of his sovereign's confidence and favor,
with the grant of Nova Scotia he was accorded
permission to divide the Province into one hundred
parts or tracts, and to dispose of each of them, to-
gether with the title of Baron — which he did,
realizing from each purchase the sum of two hun-
dred pounds sterling. His second son, John Alex-
ander, emigrated to the colony of Virginia in 1669,
settled in Stafford County, and purchased the
Howison patent of land, which extended from
Georgetown to Hunting Creek, and embraced the
site of Alexandria, which was called after him.
Brock, in the admirable "Records of old Virginia
Families," which he has recently published, says
of this one: " Of honored American families, not
one was more early or has been more continuously
conspicuous for worth, ability and essential service
toward material progress and general enlighten-
ment than that of Alexander." Indeed, a care-

36 A doctor's experiences

fill examination of its history shows that among its
immediate representatives and those who have been
connected with it by marriage appear the names
of some of the ablest and purest men that our
country has known, and that not one of its members
has ever reflected dishonor upon his name and
lineage.

My grandfather, after having served with dis-
tinction as a captain in the War of 1812, retired
to his fine estate in Henrico County, Virginia, and
died at a comparatively early age, leaving his wife
with four daughters to mourn his loss. He is said
to have been a gentleman of thorough education,
of an unusually handsome person, and of the highest
character.

My grandmother was the daughter of Judge
Harry Innes, first of Virginia and subsequently of
Kentucky ; and I will speak of him and then re-
turn to her, as I want j^ou to know something of
both of them.

Some weeks since I was visiting a patient at the
Hotel Chatham, and, in coming out, I turned into
the Rue Volney, where my carriage awaited me.
Just before stepping into it, I observed a bookstall
wherein many old volumes were exposed for sale,
and with my usual curiosity in such matters, I
turned and examined them. One of the first that
attracted my attention was " Collins' Kentucky,"
which I purchased, as I knew that my grandmother
was born in that State, and I hoped to obtain some
further information respecting her family. My.
hopes were fully realized, for I found in it a sketch of
my great granclfather. Judge Harry Innes, which I
shall introduce, at this point, so that you may know
how good and great a man he was :

" The subject of this sketch was born in 1752 in
Caroline County, Virginia. His father, the Rev.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 3T

Piobert Innes, of the Episcopal Church, was a native
of Scotland, and married CatherineRichards, of Vir-
ginia, by whom he had three sons, Eobert, Harry and
James. The eldest was a physician, and Harry and
James read law with Mr. Rose, of Virginia. Harry
was a schoolmate of the late President Madison.
James was attorney -general of Virginia, and one of
the most eloquent debaters in the convention which
adopted the present Constitution of the United
States. During the administration of "President
Washington he was deputed to Kentucky as a
special envoy to explain to Governor Shelby and
the Legislature the measures in progress by the
Government of the United States to secure the
navigation of the Mississippi.

^'In 1776-'7, while the lead mines became objects
of national solicitude and public care, for procur-
ing a supply necessary to the revolutionary contest,
the subject of this sketch was employed by the
committee of public safety in Virginia to superin-
tend the workings of Chipril's mines. His ability,
zeal and fidelity in that employment commanded
the thanks of that committee. In 1779 he was
elected by the Legislature of Virginia a commis-
sioner to hear and determine the claims to unpat-
ented lands in the district including Abingdon.
That duty he performed to public satisfaction. In
1783 he was elected by the Legislature of Virginia
one of the judges of the Supreme Court for the district
of Kentucky, and on the third day of November of
that year he entered upon the duties of his com-
mission at Crow's station, near Danville, in con-
junction with the Hon. Caleb Wallace and Samuel
McDowell. In 1784 he was elected by the Legisla-
ture of Virginia attorney-general for the district of
Kentucky, in the place of Walker Daniel, who fell
a victim to the savage foe. In 1785 he entered

38 A doctor's experiences

upon the duties of that office, in which he con-
tinued until he was appointed in 1787 judge of the
court of the United States for the Kentucky dis-
trict, the duties of which he discharged until his
death in Septemher, 1816.

" Upon the erection of Kentucky into an indepen-
dent State in 1792, he was offered, but declined,
the office of chief justice. He was president of the
first electoral college for the choice of governor and
lieutenant-governor under the first constitution.
In April, 1790, he was authorized by the Secretary
of War — General Knox — to call out the scouts for
the protection of the frontier ; and in 1791 he was
associated with Scott, Shelby, Logan and Brown
as a local board of war for the western county, to
call out the militia on expeditions against the
Indians, in conjunction with the commanding of-
ficers of the United States, and to apportion scouts
through the exposed tracts of the district. In all
these responsible capacities the conduct of Judge
Innes was without reproach, and raised him most
deservedly high in the public esteem, and he re-
ceived the repeated thanks of General Washington
for the discharge of high trusts. As a judge, he
was patient to hear, diligent to investigate, and
impartial to decide. These qualities were especially
requisite in his 'position as the sole judge, until
1807, of the court of the United States for the dis-
trict of Kentucky, whose decisions were final, un-
less reversed by the Supreme Court of the United
States. As a neighbor, as an agriculturist, and as
a polished gentleman, in all the relations of private
and social life, he was the model of his day and
generation."

His brother, the Hon. James Innes, was not
only attorney-general of Virginia^ as has been al-
ready stated, but he was offered the appointment

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 39

of Attorney-G-eneral of the United States by Gen-
eral Washin2:ton himself. He died in Philadel-
phia, whither he had gone on official business, in
consequence of the rupture of an aneurism, and he
lies interred in Christ Church burying-ground in
that city. Mr. Wirt speaks of him in "The Life of
Patrick Henry" with great enthusiasm, and pro-
nounces him one of the most splendid orators of
that age of eloquence.

Judge Harry Innes married first Elizabeth Cal-
laway, of Bedford County, Virginia, who died
shortly after his removal to Kentucky, and. secondly
Mrs. Shields, of that State. My grandmother was
one of the four daughters who were the issue of his
first marriage ; and the wife of the Hon. John J.
Crittenden was the only child of the second. Con-
temporary historians speak in the most flattering
terms of the virtues, services and abilities of the
various I'epresentatives of the Innes family^ and the
record shows that alike as private gentlemen and
as public servants their lives were without spot or
blemish.

Among my first recollections of my grandmother
Alexander is her wedding — I mean, naturally, her
second one — which took place at my father's house
in Edenton when I was a "small boy," and cared
far more for the "good things" with which the
€vent was celebrated than for the remarkable cir-
cumstance of being a witness to the marriage of a
grand-parent. Subsequently I spent the summers
of many years at her residence in Campbell County,
Virginia, and my mind is filled with the most
pleasant memories of her and of her beautiful
home, Contentand good cheer reigned in undisputed
sway beneath her hospitable roof. I have often seen
her house crowded with visitors, who came and
lingered to enjoy the "loving cup" filled with

40 A doctor's experiences

• tempting julep, which was sent with the rising of the
sun to every guest ; the grand breakfast of hot rolls,
loaf-bread, batter-cakes, mufHns, fried chicken ^
broiled ham, boiled eggs, fresh butter, and count-
less other delicacies which were spread out at eight
a. m., and at which it was a point of honor to be
present; the pleasant rambles 'mid the flowers of
the Isivvii and the oaks of the grove and the grass
of the meadows ; the mighty dinners of flesh
and fowl of every variety of choicest vegetables-
from the garden, and richest fruits from the or-
chard, supplemented by treasures of pickles and
sauces, and followed by a profusion of cakes, tarts,,
puddings, ices, and plates of peaches and milk —
milk as rich as the rankest of clover could make it,
and as cold as the ice-house itself; the siesta be-
neath the aspens in the yard, with a watermelon
feast as its finale ; the tempting suppers of fra-
grant tea and aromatic coffee and hot biscuits and
crispy waffles and steaming batter-cakes and end-
less sweetmeats, which were served by a crowd of
smiling darkeys with the twilight shadows ; and
the pleasant reunion in the drawing-room at night,
with its genial talk, its rich jokes, its pleasant
stories, its sweet melodies, and its old Virginia
reel as a conclusion to the day's enjoyment.

It has been at least forty years since I visited the
scene of all this hospitality and happiness, and in
the mean time things have changed — completely
changed — I can assure you. The two old people
have long been sleeping beneath the shadow of St.
Stephen's — the country church in which they
prayed together with hearts overflowing with love
and thankfulness. Otter View, their once beauti-
ful home, has passed into the hands of strangers,
while its hospitable roof is crumbling, its flower
beds have been devastated by the ploughshare, its

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 41

magnificent oaks have been devoted to the con-
struction of negro cabins, its trembling aspens have
been sold as fire-wood, despite the initials of my
sweetheart which adorned them ; its well-kept gar-
den has been consecrated to the tobacco crop, its
obsequious darkeys have gone where '^ the good nig-
gers go," and its beauties and glories are only things
of memory and tradition. And the joyous throngs
that once delighted to revel in the unclouded hos-
pitality of this old Virginia home — where are they ?
They have disappeared completely, vanished like
some passing cloud that leaves no trace upon the
heavens. Many a one is sleeping his last sleep,
buried perchance beneath the sod of some alien
field, or with '^the boys at Richmond," or under
the solitary cedars of the neighboring cemetery ;
while others, with whitened locks and tottering
limbs, are nursing their grandchildren and talking
of the "better times before the war;" and one
who was the gayest of them all is sitting with
rifled heart and weary brain by his solitary fireside
in a land of strangers, writing the history of those
happier days, and musing over the mutability of
earthly things, and the strange problem of human
existence.

1 spoke of the last time I saw Otter View, and
there is an incident connected with ray journey
thither which is worth relating. Having obtained
a leave of absence from the faculty of the Univer-
sity of Virginia, where I was then pursuinj^; my
studies, I drove over to a small town on the James
and took a canal boat for Lynchburg. A fellow-
student by the name of Burwell, a man full of life
and cleverness, who was returning to his home in
Franklin County, accompanied me, and as we were
young and the sky was cloudless, and the country
was beautiful, we enjoyed the drive amazingly.

42 A doctor's experiences

On our arrival, we alighted at " Dyer's Hotel,"
called for a room, made our preparations for dinner,
and, in accordance with the customs of the times,
asked for a ^' drink of whisky" as a preliminary
to the meal. To our great surprise, the darkey in
attendance declined to comply with our demand,
saying, '^It's agin Mass Dyer's orders, and I darnst
to fetch it." We then demanded that he should
bring up the landlord, as we wanted an explanation
of what seemed to our youthful minds the most ex-
traordinary thing that had ever occurred ^^ south of
Mason's and Dixon's line." In a few moments-
mine host appeared, looking as if he had been
born and reared in a distillery, but with a temper-
ance lecture upon the tip of his tongue. ''You
want a drink, young men," he began with great
solemnity; "I would as soon give you fire and
brimstone, for whisky is a device of hell and a
trick of the devil. I warn you never to touch or
taste the unclean thing. Shun the cup; turn your
backs upon it ; fly from it as you would from the chol-
era and a mad dog. I am for temperance — for tem-
perance against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Follow me ; follow in my footsteps ; take the pledge ;
never drink a drop yourselves, and start a temper-
ance hotel. This is my house, young men, and I
keep it in my way. If you want a drink, go to a
'rum mill' and get it, for this is a temperance
hotel, and you can't drink spirits in it while I am
above ground, sure as my name is Dyer."

" But, Mr. Dyer," put in Burwell, who was a
genuine wag, " while I respect your principles and
am delighted with your hotels I am just dying of
thirst, and I must have a drink."

"Bring this thirsty man a glass of ice-water,
Caleb," was Dyer's laconic command.

" But, Mr. Dyer— hold on, Caleb," said Burwell,

IN THREE CONTINENTS. ' 43

^^ although I like cold water as well as the next
man — that is, on my hands and face when they need
it — it won't begin to fill the hill in this case. T
am a sick man, sir, a very sick man, and I need a
drink as a medicine."

" Bring this sick man a dose of castor oil, Caleb,"
shouted thejmplacable landlord^ as he marched off,
proud of himself and glorying in his temperance
hotel.

" Jeemes Eiver !" exclaimed Burwell, giving a
long whistle of disgust, " I am going out to see if
the whole town has joined the temperance society,
and if I can't hunt up a little whisky for love or
money. This nonsense is all wrong, it is against
the Bill of Rights, clearly."'

He soon returned with a beaming face and a bottle
of whisky, and we each took '^ forty drops" for
the stomach's sake, and went to dinner. After
the meal we sauntered over the town, and finally
returned to our room, where a spectacle met my
gaze that I shall remember to the end of my ex-
istence. U'pon the table stood the bottle emptied
completely of its contents^ and under, it lay the
prostrate form of the great temperance advocate,
the immaculate Dyer, as drunk as Bacchus.

We called for Caleb, had our effects carried to
another chamber, and left when the boat arrived,
abundantly satisfied with Dyer and his temperance
hotel.

It seems that the poor wretch had been a great
drunkard, but that a short time before our arrival
he had ''sworn off," "taken the pledge," and
christened his house "Dyer's Temperance Hotel."

Unfortunately, the sight of the plethoric bottle
had proved too much for his new-born virtue, and
yielding to the temptation of the moment, he had
fallen from grace, drunk to his fill, and tumbled

44 A doctor's experiences

under the table in a state of helpless and hopeless
intoxication.

When I last heard of the unfortunate Dyer, his
hotel was closed, and he was filling a '' drunkard's
grave" upon the banks of the beautiful James, as
many a better man has done, and will do, for the
temperance cause can never flourish where " green
mint" grows as luxuriantly as it does'in the Old
Dominion.

My grandmother Alexander was a remarkable
woman, for she inherited the strong sense, the ster-
ling virtues, and the courtly bearing 0/ her family.
She was the very soul of kindness, gentleness and
good breeding. Although deprived of her vision
at a compai-atively early period, she retained her
vivacity and her cheerfulness to the end of life.
The war swept away her property and left her de-
pendent, but she never murmured, and she smiled
and prayed on, until at the advanced age of ninety-
two years her final summons came.

Having been born in Kentucky wdien it was
known as the " dark and bloody ground," she had
a thousand interesting stories to tell — such as of
Daniel Boone and his wonderful adventures with
" the savage foe ;" of life in the ^^ block-houses" to
which the women and children were constantly
compelled to fly for shelter ; of encounters with the
Indians which she had seen and in which she had
actually taken part ; of the capture of lier relatives,
two daughters of Colonel Calloway, and their sub-
sequent rescue at a distance of forty miles from the
fort by Col. Nicholson ; of the ill-fated expedition
of Colonel Bowman, when he went out w^ith the
flower of Kentucky's chivalry, and returned after
having lost nearly his entire command, despite the
desperate bravery of Logan, his second officer ; of
the history of that extraordinary man — remarkable

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 45

alike for his talents and his prostitution of them —
Aaron Burr, over whose first trial her father pre-
sided, and by whom so many good men and fair
women were deceived and ruined ; of the chivalrous
Blennerhasset, whose beautiful island home was once
the consummation of the poet's dream, and whose
misfortunes have excited so profound and general
a sympathy ; of Henry Clay, when without friends
or fortune, but with great talents and high courage,
lie was commencing that career which ultimately
reflected so much glory upon his country, and made
him the object of an idolatry without a precedent
in the history of the nation ; of her own illustrious
father, to whom the highest positions came unsought
and were held unsullied, who, by common consent,
was recognized as the first gentleman and the
ablest jurist of his day, and who enjoyed the dis-
tinction of being a trusted friend of G-eorge Wash-
ington ; and of a multitude of other incidents and
persons of equal interest, with which and with
whom the threads of her early life had been inter-
woven.

I have lingered long over this theme of pedigree,
m}^ friend, not to glorify myself in the slightest
degree — not to afiect or to claim aught of superior-
ity over my fellows — but that you and my children
may understand the sources whence I have drawn
the inspirations of my life, and because it has been
from the commingling of the blood and virtues of
these good and loyal people that she has sprung to
whom I owe my existence, and upon whom my
heart has ever lavished all the love and reverence
of which it is capable. It is from this truly noble
stock — these honorable and distinguished ancestors
— that my mother has descended, and I can say,
with truth and pride, that every trait of character
and quality of mind which they possessed^ have

46 A doctor's experiences

found in her its counterpart and parallel. Honor-
ing her husband supremely, the religion of her life
has been to share his burdens, to divide his sor-
rows, to smooth his pathway, to nurse him in his
sickness, to sustain him in the hour of death, and
to guard his memory as a sacred trust. Loving
her children with an affection akin to idolatry, she
has lived to sow only the seeds of virtue in their
hearts, to make their joys and sorrows hers, to hold
perpetually before them their father's life as " a
lamp to their feet," and by precept and example
to point their way to that '^better land" where
hope has its fruition and faith its recompense.

Such is, and has always been, my mother, and
it is not surprising that a nature so full of tender-
ness, so self-sacrificing and devoted, should inspire
her children with sentiments of the deepest affec-
tion and of the most supreme respect. '^I have
had my reward already," she once said, when
spoken to in regard to her love for her family, ^^for
not one of my chiklren has ever told me a falsehood
or disobeyed me." The principle of compensation
thus finds one of its most significant illustrations
in the reciprocal love and devotion which exists be-
tween this good w^oman and those to whom she has
given existence.

My grandmother's half-sister, Maria Jones — the
issue of her father's second marriage — first married
Chief-Justice Todd, of Kentucky, and afterward the
Hon. J. J. Crittenden, the distinguished Governor
and the eloquent Senator, whose popularity through-
out the entire country was hardly less than that of
the great Kentuckian himself.

Having been sent at the age of fifteen to a board-
ing-school in Fairfax County, Virginia, it was my
habit to spend my holidays in Washington as the
guest of Mrs. Crittenden, and I thus had an oppor-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 47

tunity of becoming well acquainted with her and
her illustrious husband, as well as with many of
the most renowned statesmen of that day.

I was born in Tyrrell County, North Carolina,
where my parents settled soon after their marriage,
but my recollections of it are very indistinct, as
they removed to the town of Edenton when I was
only four years of age.

Edenton is so named in honor of Charles Eden,
one of the early governors of North Carolina, and
is one of the oldest as well as most beautiful of
Southern towns, having been incorporated in 1712.
It is situated on a bay which is scarcely less pic-
turesque than that of Naples, embowered in ma-
jestic elms, adorned with luxuriant gardens, filled
with antiquated but beautiful mansions, and has
as a background a forest of sighing pines and weep-
ing cypresses. It was there that my boyhood was
spent and the first venture of my manhood made,
and it is within the precincts of its old church-yard
that I would like to sleep when the labors of life
are ended. -

48 A doctor's experiences

LETTER III.

EARLY DAYS.

My Dear Doctor:

It pained me greatly to leave thebaven in which
my boyhood had been spent so quietly, and to
launch out into the world. Independent of my
love for m)^ family and friends, I had a real affec-
tion for my home — for the roof which had covered
me so long ; for the trees under which I had
played from earliest da3^s ; for the flowers that
bloomed beneath my window and filled the house
with perfume and my heart with gladness ; for
the birds that built their nests in the arbor, and
sang so sweetly all the day long; for the ''^old
mammy " who nursed me with such unfaltering
tenderness, and stocked my brain with camp-meet-
ing tunes and the superstitions of her race ; and
for the beautiful bay and the majestic sound and
the gloomy forest and all the various objects with
which my existence had been identified. It was
sad, indeed, to be compelled to turn my back upon
those who were dearest to me and the objects which
I loved so fondly, and I went off with as sad a heart
as ever beat in a boyish bosom.

This sadness was increased by the expectation
of being forced to give more attention to my books
than my inclination prompted, and of being de-
barred from the jay of my life — the pleasure of
wanderins: about the countrv. It is true that I had
been a great reader, but I had shamefully neglected

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 49

my studies — partly from an inherent spirit of rebel-
lion against coercion of all kinds, and for the reason
that the system of instruction to which I had been
subjected awakened in me only a feeling of resent-
ment and indignation. Long years have passed
since then, and I am not disposed to rake up the
ashes of the past, but I will say this much, at
least : It was a system of favoritism and partisan-
ship of the lowest description. There was a
chronic quarrel in the " board of trustees," and
my father headed one of the factions, while
another physician led the other, which, for the
time being, was the more powerful. As the
teachers were elected by this board, and were
directly responsible to it, they made it the study
of their lives to please only the stronger paity.
The sons of those trustees who belonged to the
majority were, therefore, placed at the head of
their classes and kept there, while those of us who
appertained to the minority were pronounced
dunces, and made to appear as such under all cir-
cumstances. I remember well the public exami-
nation of a class in geography^ when Tom Jones
was called up and questioned in regard to the State
of Georgia.

Teacher : '• Thomas, what can you tell me about
Georgia?"

No response.

Teacher: '^ Thomas, don't be afraid, as good a
scholar as you are must not lose his head because
of a 'public examination.' What is the capital
of Georgia?"

A dead silence.

Teacher: "This is unaccountable ! A boy who
has stood at the head of his class during the entire
session not able to answer a word in public ! Col-
4

50 A doctor's experiences

lect your thoughts, Thomas, and tell me how
Georgia is bounded."

Not a word in reply.

Teacher: '-What do you mean? Have you
lost your tongue ? Has the 23resence of all these
people taken your senses completely away ? What
is the matter with you ? Can't you answer a word
about Georgia ?"

" Why, Mr. D ," cried out Thomas, ''don't

you know that Georgia ain't my State? You
gave me Virginia to learn, and I know it like a
book."

The secret was out, and the system of instruc-
tion pursued in the academy was made apparent.
Tom Jones was by nature an ass, but he was a
son of one of the majority of the board — a board
which had just elected the teacher for another term

and raised his salary besides — and Mr. D , in

order to ffive eclat to his examination on o:eoo:ra-
phy, had assigned him a particular State on which
he was to prepare himself, and then to be publicly
questioned. By some accident things became
mixed in the teacher's mind, and he questioned his
favorite on Geoi'sria instead of Yirojinia — with the
result above indicated. This incident, with others
ol a similar nature, developed in my mind so

supreme a disgust for Mr. D and for teachers

in general, as to cause me to neglect my books
and to get fearfully behindhand in my studies.

I had not the hunter's instincts^ but the ram-
bler's, and though my dog and gun were m}'' con-
stant companions, I have not much to answer for
so far as the slaughter of the birds of the air and
the denizens of the forest are concerned. The de-
light of my heart was to hold communion with Na-
ture and myself under the spreading trees of the
forest, or beneath the blue sky of the fields, or on

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 51

the reedy banks of the creek or by the sandy shores
of the sound, or wherev^er I could find most of soli-
tude and least of human fellowship.

To me, with these tastes and habits, the ^' rough
and tumble ' ' life of a boarding school seemed ap-
palling, and I looked forward with dread to the
surrender of this source of enjoyment, and, as I be-
lieved, of moral development.

My dog I loved passionately, for he was unusally
intelligent, while his attachment to me was some-
thing remarkable. He was certainly capable of
reasoning and he understood every word that fell
from my lips. That he was cognizant of my ex-
pected departure I am convinced, for he gave evi-
dence of much distress of mind, refusing food, rov-
ing restlessly about with drooping ears and trailing
tail, and an occasional moan which resembled that
of a sick child. When I bade him good-bye, as I
did with my arms folded about his neck and tears
streaming from my eyes, I never beheld in any
countenance a look of such profound sorrow as I
saw in his. It was with great difficulty that he
could be prevented from following me, while his
whimper of pain had something so human in it
that it has sounded in my ears ever since. Alas I
I never saw my beloved Byron again, though I
have shed many a tear over his grave, for on the
night of my departure he stole into my room, lay
himself upon my bed, and was found on the suc-
ceeding morning stiff and cold, having died of a
broken heart.

My father, who was greatly grieved by this sad
event, had him placed in a coffin and decently
buried beneath the old pear tree in the garden,,
where he still sleeps peacefully and not forgotten.

Can it be that this noble creature, who in life
manifested th^ attributes of courage, love, fidelity,^

52 A doctor's experiences

and devotion even unto death, shall be left to sleej)
on "a mass of common dust," when other beings
inferior in intellect and character are awakened by
the final trump? I cannot say or even conjecture,
l)ut of one thing I am sure: If I am '^called"' in
that day of doom, and find myself possessed of con-
sciousness and identity, I shall look for the well-
remembered form of my faithful friend, and shall
hope to liear his bark of welcome and delight again.

As I write these words, unbidden tears fall upon
my paper, for they unlock the coffers of memory
and bring out thoughts and recollections of the
past which quite unman me.

Speaking of Byron reminds me of Fanny, the
little dog that my children raised in those hard
years in Baltimore just after the war, and loved so
well, because, perchance, they had so little to di-
vide with her. Do you remember her extraordi-
nary conduct when my little boy was taken? At
any rate I will repeat the story, for it is worth it.
Just before Ned's death, Fanny came running into
the room, sprang upon the bed, gazed with a wist-
ful look into his face for an instant, licked his cold
a,nd clammy hands, and then, with a low wail and
an expression of unutterable sadness, ran wildly
away as if she were pursued or had run mad. She.
was not seen again until the remains of our dar-
ling had been carried away, when she crawled
from beneath a bed in another chamber, the very
picture of despair and almost a type of emaciation,
for she had not stirred nor tasted food for two en-
tire days. That she knew he was dead and we
were wn-etched, she indicated in many ways for
several weeks. Indeed, she never recovered her
wonted playfulness, wdiile she manifested an in-
creased affection for every member of the family
from that time forward.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 5

ty

Some months afterward there came into my of-
fice a little boy, the tones of whose voice at once
reminded me of those of my own dead son, so much
so in truth that I found difficulty in commanding
myself sufficiently to prescribe for him. In a mo-
ment I heard Fanny scratching and barking vio-
lently at the door, and when I |)crmitted her to en-
ter she sprang upon him, and overwhelmed him
with caresses. These demonstrations of delight
lasted but an instant, for she seemed to take in
the situation at a glance and to understand that
even her acute senses had been deceived ; her merry
bark immediately changed into a distressed whim-
per, her ears fell and her tail trailed on the floor,
and she turned and rushed away, the very picture
of sorrow and disappointment. For the whole day
she concealed herself, emitting an occasional cry,
as if she were in pain, and refusing both water and
food.

It is needless to tell you how profound an im-
pression these incidents produced upon our minds,
and with what affection and tenderness we ever
afterward regarded her.

While on the subject of dogs, I cannot refrain
from telling you another story, which has an amus-
ing side to it.

In Cairo my children had a poodle of which they
were very fond, as it was the most docile and harm-
less thing imaginable. As the Egyptians have a
great aversion to these animals — regarding them
as unclean and as imparting profanation by their
touch — we were constantly having difficulties about
our little pet which finally culminated rather seri-
ously. One day a Pasha of high position and
great pretensions came to pay me a visit, and find-
ing the door open he entered the house and clapped
his hands, according to the eastern custom, to an-

54 A doctor's experiexces

noiince his presence and to summon a servant.
Unluckily, only the acute ears of Aula caught the
sound, and she rushed into the parlor to welcome
the visitor with friendh' bark and kind caresses, as
was her wont. In an instant the whole household
was startled bv a noise of rushinor feet mino^led
with loud cries for assistance, uttered alternately
in Arabic and in English. We entered the room
in a body, and, to our consternation, found the
Pasha mounted upon the center-table by the side
of the lamp and in the midst of our curiosities of
faience, etc., frightened nearly to death and shout-
ing for assistance, while the poodle was coursing
around the "treed" dignitar}-, barking to the full-
est capacity of her vocal organs, evidently de-
lighted with the cordial reception which she had
given her master's guest.

Although I had coffee served and overwhelmed
his excellency with expressions of regret and to-
kens of hospitality, he could be induced to remain
but a few moments, and took his departure, filled
with apprehensions on account of the dog and in-
dignant with me because I had rendered such a
scene possible by keeping an animal which all
good Mohammedans regard with aversion and dis-
gust. We became better friends afterward^ over
the couch of a sick child, but he never could refer
to his adventure without becoming angry and lec-
turing me furiously for my want of good sense and
proper tact in failing to respect the sentiments and
prejudices of a people with whom I had cast my
lot.

Although he had spent several years in England
and spoke the language of that country fluently,
he had never abandoned the prejudices of his race
and religion. He was an Arab in every cell and
fiber of his heart, notwithstanding his association

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 55

with gentlemen and Christians, and without re-
gard to the thick coat of civilized polish with
which he had besmeared himself. As an evidence
of this I have only to tell you that our little dog
disappeared on tire succeeding day, to the great
sorrow of my children, and I have every reason to
believe that when the Pasha left the house he com-
manded the '^Boab" to destroy the unoffending
little creature at the earliest possible moment.

As I passed through Washington en route to
Alexandria, I called on Mr. Tyler, who was then
the President of the United States, having become
so by the death of Greneral Harrison. The Pi'esi-
dent received me kindly, as he knew my parents
well, his first wife having been a Christian and a
near relative of my father. He was a tall, gaunt,
^nd ungainly man, with a long, oval, and reced-
ing forehead, and a nose of the Roman type, exag-
gerated in its dimensions, but his manners were of
that frank, cordial. Southern kind which won all
hearts, and showed the intrinsic kindness of the
nature which inspired them. Only a short time
before he had been repudiated by the Whig party,
and having no following, he was, as he told me
with a touch of sadness in his tone, 'Hhe best
abused man in the country." As you have always
been something of a politician, I am sure you will
recall the great excitement which prevailed in con-
sequence of the dispute between Mr. Tyler and the
Whig party — led by Mr. Clay — which ensued in
consequence of the refusal of the President to ap-
piove the bank bills.

After the most memorable political campaign ever
known, when a whole people got drunk with '' hard
cider," and the magical refrain of "gTippecanoe
and Tyler too" becamethe ''national anthem," and
swelled in thunder tones throughout an infatuated

56 A doctor's experiences

country, Cleneral Harrison and Mr. Tyler were
elected, by the almost unanimous vote of the
electoral college, to the respective positions of
President and Vice-President of the United States.
Their inaguration amid universal rejoicing ; then
the sudden death of the President, with the genu-
ine sorrow it produced ; and the establishment of
the Vice-President in the vacant Presidential chair,
followed each other in such rapid succession as to
appear like the shifting scenes of some histrionic
drama. The Whig party having a majority in
both branches of Congress, seemed to be in a posi-
tion to realize its dream of governmental policy^
and to perpetuate its power indefinitely. It im-
mediately proceeded, consequently, to the con-
sideration of a bill for the establishment of a na-
tional bank with almost unlimited powers, and, on
the 28th of July, 1841, it was sent to the Presi-
dent for his approval. To the regret of his politi-
cal friends and the ruin of his party, he unhesi-
tatingly returned it to the Senate, announcing
himself as being ''conscientiously opposed on con-
stitutional grounds " to the creation of such a
bank as that provided for in the bill submitted for
his signature. Again the experiment was tried,
and another bill of similar import was passed by
Congress and sent to the President, but the result
was the same —he peremtorily vetoed it as he had
done its predecessor. Mr. Clay, yielding to his im-
perious temper, and persuaded that Mr. Tyler had
betrayed and ruined his part}^, attacked him with
great virulence, bringing to bear that power of
sarcasm in which no man was his superior, and
that fury of denunciation which, like the light-
ning's flash, withered and blasted wherever it
fell. As a natural consequence, the party which
worshiped the "great Kentuckian " as a demi-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 57

God, accepted bis conclusions, and, turning upon
the man it had recently idolized, sought to rend
and ruin him. In order to appreciate this differ-
ence between Mr. Tyler and the Whig party, it is
necessary to place yourself in his position and to
survey the field from his standpoint.

Up to the hour when the dispute occurred Mr.
Tyler bad been universally regarded as the very
soul of honor and integrity. My father, who was
reared in his county, and had known him from
earliest childhood, told me that there never lived a
purer or a more high-toned man, and that he was
just the one to submit to torture or to death for the
sake of that which he believed to be right. It is
likewise on record — in documents written and pub-
lished since 1819 — that he had always been '' con-
scientiously opposed on constitutional grounds " to
a national bank, while Mr. Webster states in a
letter written to Mr. Kitchen, on the 16th day of
July, 1841, that 'Hhe opinions of these gentle-
men— Harrison and Tyler — were generally known
on all political subjects, and those of the latter
gentleman, especially on the bank question, were
as well known as the sentiments of any public man
on any subject whatever."

It is also true that he did not seek the nomina-
tion, and made no pledge in connection with it,
bnt that he was sought for and was nominated be-
cause of his availability — because his known char-
acter and opinions made him acceptable to the peo-
ple of the country, and were calculated to advance
the interests of his party.

In addition to this, it is well known that, until his
Dayton speech, which w^as delivered subsequently
to his nomination and some time after the canvass
was commenced, G-eneral Harrison himself was
supposed to be equally opposed to a national bank,

58 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

and that, even in that speech, he admitted his
strong leanings against such an institution, and
his unwillingness to sanction any measure propos-
ing its establishment '' unless it became absolutely
necessary for the successful management of the
Government, and was chartered with the most
limited powers possible."

Let me ask, then, if it was just and fair to de-
nounce Mr. Tyler as a traitor to his party because,
when called upon to approve or disapprove of a
measure submitted to him by Congress, he ad-
hered to the conviction of a lifetime, differed with
his friends in regard to a measure wdiich had never
been regarded as a test of party fealty, and, in-
stead of followino' the suf^^orestions of ambition or
the dictates of friendship, or the requirements of a
narrow partisanship, he chose to do that which he
considered right, consistent, and most beneficial to
the wdiole country ?

It was not reserved for posterity to answer this
question ; the reply came before his career was
ended ; and in the homage of the people of the
entire South and the unsought honors of his native
State, he found that recompense for which his
wounded but still proud and conscientious spirit
had siofhed so long; and so richlv merited.

I met him in Ricbmond wdien, as a member of
the Confederate Congress, he was regarded with a
degree of confidence, respect, and veneration which
could not have been otherwise than gratifying to
a man of his chivalrous and sensitive nature — to
one who had been called to endure so much of
obloquy, outrage, and persecution for conscience
sake, and in the defense of what he believed to be
the highest interests of his country.

It was a source of infinite satisfaction to him to
find that, wdien the other members of his Cabinet

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 59

deserted him, Mr. Webster remained faithfully at
his post.

Although a Whig of '^the strictest sect," and
an ardent advocate of a national bank — as he ex-
pressly declared in his famous letter to the Na-
tional Intelligencer of the 13th of September, 1841 —
he had the good sense to appreciate the consist-
ency of Mr. Tyler's course, and the patriotism to
sustain him in the face of as fearful a tide of per
secution as it ever fell to the lot of a statesman to
meet and stem. Even the reputation which the
*' Sage of Marshfield " had established for sagacity,
judgment, probity, and love of country did not
shield him against the wrath of the disappointed
politicians who sought to sacrifice him, covered
with honors and revered by the whole world as he
was, in order that they might reach and destroy
the President. Confiding, however, in the sin-
cerity of his own opinions, and giving Mr. Tyler
the fullest credit for his conscientious convictions,
he stood like a "stone-wall" between the per-
secuted and his persecutors, and threw the weight
of his great name and influence upon the side of
the administration. The history of the nation
contains no prouder or more thrilling page than
that upon which is recounted the story of the mu-
tual sacrifices of these two great men upon the
altar of their country. Victims though they were of
vindictive personal and. political assaults, the names
of the President and Mr. Webster will descend to
posterity associated with one of the most brilliant
administrations which the country has known. Mr,
Tyler presented me to Miss Gardner, a young and
beautiful woman to whom lie was subsequently
married, and who, notwithstanding their disparity
of years, bore him several children, and made him
an excellent wife. The father of this ladv was

60 A doctor's experiences

then the guest of the President, and was having a
delightful time in Washington society, little dream-
ing of the sad fate which awaited him.

The Princeton, a vessel of war constructed by
Commodore Stockton, and carrying the heaviest
piece of ordnance that had been seen at that
day, came up the Potomac and cast anchor
opposite Alexandria. Accompanied by a number
oF school-mates I visited her, and was shown
her beautiful cabins, her powerful engines, and
her wonderful gun, which was fired for our
amusement by the officer in charge. On the suc-
ceeding day I heard a tremendous report from the
river below Alexandria, which I knew came from
the great gun of the Princeton. Judge of my horror
wdien I learned that the report had been caused by
the bursting of this huge cannon, and that among
the killed were Dr. Gardner, Judge Upshur, of the
Cabinet, Commodore Kennon, and several other dis-
tinguished persons. The President made a narrow
escape, for, though the gun was to be fired in his
special honor, some insignificant circumstance
called him to the cabin only a moment before the
accident occurred. He was always called by his
friends " lucky John Tyler/' because throughout
his entire life the rarest pieces of good fortune
and the strangest escapes from accident occurred
to him. My father told me that he once heard Mr.
Stevenson, of Virginia — who so long represented
the United States at the Court of St. James, and
was an unusually handsome man — twit Mr. Tyler,
in the outset of his career, on what he called the
" sublimest gift of ugliness, and the greatest run
of luck'' that ever a man had. "Yes," said
Mr. Tyler, " the Lord has dealt lavishly with me
in these respects ; but, Stevenson, had he made me
as good looking as you are, I should be President

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 61

of tbe United States." little dreaming what his
luck was really to he in the end.

The thing called luck is a curious phenomenon.
It is true that, as a general rule, ^'Providence is
on the side of the heaviest artillery/' and that
"every man is the architect of his own fortune,"
but, apart from all this, some men are constantly sub-
ject to strange freaks both of good and of bad fortune,
entirely independent of their merits or defects.
History is filled with instances illustrative of this
fact, and the observation of every one confirms it.
The prejudice against Friday as an unlucky day
is, as you may know, almost universal in Christian
countries, and I found that the Mohammedans are
equally prejudiced against Wednesday, though no
authority exists for it in the Koran. The old
adage that ''it is better to be born lucky than rich,"
has a great deal of wisdom in it, for to the lucky
• man anything is possible. I have, for instance,
two friends — one is passionately fond of racing,
and, without knowing anything about horses or
taking the trouble to inform himself, he scarcely
ever makes a bet without winning it ; while the
other would be sure to lose Mr. Mackay's fortune
to-morrow if it were given him to-day, and by no
apparent fault of his own.

Whatever has come to me, whether of good or
evil, has come with a "rush." My pathway has
either been canopied with the fairest flowers or
paved with the sharpest thorns ; my portion has
either been of the brightness of heaven or of the
blackness of hell. My life has been the embodi-
ment of all that can be conceived of the improbable,
the unexpected, and the extreme^ alike as regards
hope and disappointment, prosperity and adversity,
praise and censure, and all the varied conditions
which make up the sum and substance of human
existence.

62 A doctor's experiences

I well remember how forlorn and miserable was
my first day at school. The solemn aspect of the
principal, the stern bearino; of the masters, and
the subdued manner of the boys were like a 'new
revelation" to me, and I gazed mechanically upon
my books without the ability to comprehend a
word of them, thinking of home, and counting the
days which must elapse before I should see it
again.

At niufht a bed was assio:ned to me in a long; dor-
mitoi'y where more than a dozen boys slept, and
in sheer bashfulness I waited until the lights had
been extinguished before I began to undress ray-
self. Profound silence reigned around, and I said
my prayers with shivering lips and crept into bed,
musing on my mother's tearful face and old Byron's
pleading gaze on the evening of my departure. In
a moment I found myself enveloped in sheets and
blankets upon the floor, and I discovered that the
sacking had been carefully detached in order that
this result might be accomplished with certainty
and facilitv. One loud roar of lauo'hter resounded
through the chamber, and a dozen boys leaped from
their beds and gathered around me, offering assist-
ance and pretending to sympathize with ixiy mis-
fortune, but really amused at my struggles to ex-
tricate myself, and at the strong terms in which I
gave expression to my indignation. As it was im-
possible to rearrange the bed, I made a pallet upon
the floor and slept as well as could be expected
until the morning, having remarked to the boys as
they returned to their couches, ''w^e will see about
this to-morrow." The bell rang at 6 a. m., and
we hurried to prayers, and afterward gathered in
the "wash room" to prepare for breakfast. So
soon as the door was closed I said to my compan-
ions of the dormitory : "Well, boys, the time has

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 63

come for settling the affair of last night, and be-
fore I have eaten my breakfast I intend to trash
the rascal who played the trick on me." They
hooted at me ; they declared themselves equally
guilty ; they pronounced me a fool for wanting to
fight over '-'a little fun;" and they informed me
that it w^as the " rule of the school" to treat every
new comer in that way. My blood was up, how-
ever, and I would listen to no explanation, for I
knew that if I failed to resent this indignity a dozen
more would be attempted. "No," said I, "you
can't get out of it in that way, and if the boy who
did it will have the courage to say so, I shall whip
him or he shall whip me."

A blue-eyed, pleasant-looking fellow about my
own age then walked forward and said: " If you
will be a fool and fight I am your man, for I un-
fastened the sacking and let you down."

With tliat we "pitched in," and though he
gave me a blow on the nose which made me " see
stars" for an instant, I soon had him on the floor
and at my mercy, for I was possessed of great
physical strength for one of my years. At this
juncture in rushed Tom, the negro waiter, and in
a moment separated us, saying : " Is you not
shamed of yourselfs to be fitin here just arter a
sayin un your prayers, and brekass is a waitin,
and de coffee is gittin cold in de bargin. Shake
hands and make it up, or I'll be for tellin Mass
George — the principal — sure as preachin, I will."

So we shook hands and became friends, and re-
mained such until death put an end to his brilliant
career, more than thirty years afterward. This boy
was George Otis, whose great work in connection
with the establishmentof tlie Army Medical Museum
and the publication of the "Surgical History of the
War" is appreciated throughout the civilized world,

64 A doctor's experiences

and whose high character and amiable disposition
earned for him the friendship and respect of all
who were brought in contact with him. It is true
that circumstances placed us on opposite sides dur-
ing the war, but nothing ever interrupted the cur-
rent of the warm attachment which was established
between us on that cold morning in the wash-room
at Clarens under Tom's auspices, and I mourned
his death as if he had been one of my own house-
hold. No better man ever lived, and the service
which he has rendered to science and to humanity
will stand as a proud and enduring monument to
his memory long after the generation that knew
him has passed away forever.

This encounter produced a profound sensation
among the boys, and when I accepted a challenge
for a wrestling match with the bully of the school,
and succeeded in " throwing him, the best two out
of three," my prowess was fully acknowledged,
and I had no trouble from that time forward.

My father, who was less of a practical Christian
in those days than in later life, charged me when
I was leaving home always to fight when in a diffi-
culty, adding that it was the surest means of Avin-
ning the friendship of an honorable adversary, and
of securing an exemption from future indignities.

At any rate it pr(ived a trump card m this in-
stance, for it saved me from a course of hazing and
made me the most popular boy in the school.

It was, indeed, a fortunate circumstance — as I
soon discovered, and with much trepidation — that the
story of this encounter did not reach the ears of the
principal, for he would have regarded me in the
light of an untamed savage, unfit to associate with
those over whose '-conversion" he had labored so
faithfully, and I should have been sent home in dis-
grace.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 65

LETTER IV.

EARLY DAYS.

My Dear Doctor :

The narration of this incident naturally suggests
the subject of those personal affairs, and that class of
so-called fire-eaters for which the South was once
notorious. I have in my mind's eye as I look back
to ante bellum times a number of persons, the prin-
cipal object of whose existence seemed to be per-
sonal difHculties, and whose chief delight was to
think and to talk of nothing but fighting.

They had been '^principals" in several duels,
they had been engaged in street fights innumerable,
they had devoted themselves exclusively to the
-study of the ''code of honor," and it was quite
impossible to have business affairs of friendly re-
lations with them without incurring the hazard of
being held responsible or called out upon the most
trivial pretext. When hostilities threatened they
iDecame more excited and bellicose than ever, and
they raved so violently of the slaughter which they
proposed to make in the ranks of the enenw that
one could not help trembling as much for the modi-
cum of intellect which Heaven had given them as
for the foe which they so longed to meet upon the
battle-field. They insulted all who talked of peace
and compromise ; they wore huge "cockades" upon
their hats and "sprigs of palmetto" in their
button-holes ; and they raised companies of soldiers,
abused their neighbors into enlisting, and went forth

66 A doctor's experiences

to the fight with eyes blurred by visions of the blood
which was to flow at their bidding, and brains dazed
by calculations of the graves which they w^ere ta
fill with victims.

But alas for the vanity of human calculations f
The places which knew them once — the bar-rooms
and the street-corners of their native towns — soon
knew them again. It did not take more than a
skirmish or two to teach them that they had mis-
taken their vocation ; they soon learned that they
had " no stomachs for the fight ;" and they speedily
made the demonstration complete that those to
whom personal encounters were a pastime the field
of battle' had no attractions, but, on the contrary,
a power of repulsion which sent them to their homes
wiser men and better citizens.

It is happily true that with the " surrender" the
entire race of professional duelists and fire-eaters
disappeared from the face of the earth, and that
the code of honor has been appealed to only under
exceptional circumstances — in such emergencies as
must occasionally present themselves everywhere
and have no identification with a special section.

There is one thing which I must say, and to which
I am sure you will agree, notwithstanding your
amiable character and your respect* for the laws,
the practice of dueling is not per se an unmixed
evil. The certainty that one is to be held to the
strictest responsibility for words and actions exercises
some degree of restraint upon individuals and ipso
facto protects societ}^ against evils which cannot
otherwise be reached and punished. In France,
where this responsibility amounts practically to
nothing — for a blow is punisbed, no matter what
may have been the provocation, and duels are so
arranged as usually to be bloodless — licentiousness
under every conceivable guise is rampant ; w^hile

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 6T

neither position nor character nor sanctity of the
domestic circle is a safeguard against the shaft of
malice or the breath of slander.

In my early days a gentleman in the South could
no more fail to send or to accept a challenge, when
circumstances justified it, than he could refuse to
tell the truth under oath ; and I have had to do
both in my time, though 1 say it now with regret
and repentance. One of these instances I must re-
late, because of its singular conclusion.

Not long after I had commenced the practice of
medicine, John Hall, the negro-trader, requested
me to accompany him to a neighboring village to
visit one of his slaves who was said to be very sick
there. We took the steamer — the one which ran
between the two places three times weekly, and
remained only half an hour at the latter — and
went to our point of destination. When we reached
the house of the sick man we found that the doc-
tor in regular attendance was out of town, and
that a "consultation" between him and myself
was, therefore, impossible. As we had but half an
hour to remain before the departure of the boat,
and as the master was naturally anxious about his
slave, for he was worth at least $1,200 in the mar-
ket, he importuned me to see him, and I agreed to
do so on the following conditions, viz : that I
should not be called upon to express an opinion
respecting the treatment which had been insti-
tuted ; that I should only give, in general terms,
an opinion as to the chances of his recovery, and
that I should leave a sealed note for the physician
explaining the circumstances under which I had
seen the patient, and giving him my views of the
case. These conditions were accepted, and I saw
th<3 patient, told his master that he was desper-
ately ill, and left a sealed note for the doctor, ex-

68 A doctor's experiences

pressing my views of the case, and adding thai I
should return on the following Wednesday, when
I hoped to meet him in consultation. He did not
meet me, but left a message to tlie effect that I had
treated him unfairly by seeing the case in his ab-
sence, that I had mistaken the side upon which the
pneumonia existed, and that he, consequently, de-
clined the consultation. I returned home imme-
diately, and, on the following morning at an early
hour, 1 sent a friend in a row-boat to his place of
residence, bearing a challenge to be delivered in
the event of his refusing to apologize for his con-
duct.

On the succeeding day my friend returned, bring-
ing with him an apology duly signed and attested,
and I thought no more of the matter until it was
brought to my attention in a peculiar manner,
some years afterward.

During the war I was ordered to North Carolina
and made a member of a board duly instructed to
examine all medical officers connected with the reg-
iments then serving in that State as well as such
others as might apply for admission to the medical
staff of the army. We had been at work only a
day or two, when the doctor with whom I had had
this difficulty presented himself for examination,
his papers showing that he was already attached to
a regiment in the field. He was abashed when he
saw me, but I advanced and shook hands with him,
which seemed to put him more at his ease. In a
brief conversation with my colleagues I obtained
permission to examine him on behalf of the board,
and I began by propounding the following question :
" What is pneumonia and what are the signs by
which its presence is indicated?" He gave me a
look of utter astonishment, but made no answer, nor
could he have given an intelligent one had his soul's

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 69

salvation Leen at stake, and he stood confused and
shaking in every limb, the picture of utter dismay.
I never felt so keenly for any one in my life, and I
was utterly disgusted with myself for having asked
the question under the circumstances. I walked
up to him and said in an undertone: "Doctor,
walk into the ante-room and compose yourself a
little. I am deeply pained at having caused you
so much annoyance." So soon as he left the room
I said to my colleagues : ' ' This is one of the ablest
]3ractitioners in North Carolina. I know him well
and he knows as much about medicine as we do,
but he is too much confused to answer a question.
I propose that we pass him on his standing as a
physician without an examination." They as-
sented, and I called him into the room again and
said to him: ''Doctor, we have considered your
case, and, in view of your embarrassment, we have
concluded to pass you without examination upon
your known standing in the profession, fully as-
sured that you know as much about medicine as
we do." The tears came into his eyes, and "I
thank you, gentlemen/' w^ere tlie only words that
he could command on the occasion. When the
board adjourned I found him waiting without ; and
having taken me apart, he said: "Dr. Warren, I
once treated you like a brute, and you have re-
venged yourself by treating me like a gentleman.
While I live you will have a warm friend ready to
die for you." With that we parted, never to meet
again.

I can but add in this connection that the war
made brave men of those who had been considered
cowards previously. I well remember a young
man, named Bob Johnson, who had been noted
during his entire life for his timidity and his
weakness of character. He was a good-hearted fel-

70 A doctor's experiences

low, and as strong as a giant physically, but he
invariably ''showed the white feather" in the hour
of trial ; and when it was said of any one in that
community, "He is as great a coward as Bob John-
son," it was considered that depreciation could not
go farther. When every one else volunteered, Bob
followed their example — to the amusement of the
whole town — and went off with Captain Skinner's
company to join the 1st North Carolina Regiment.
At the conclusion of the war only ten of the one
hundred men who originally composed that com-
pany returned to their homes, and Bob was among
them, his body covered with scars, and carrying
in his pocket a commission as "First Sergeant of
Company A, 1st North Carolina Regiment." with
a certificate from his colonel^ stating that he had
been promoted for distinguished bravery on many
battle-fields." When I questioned him in regard
to his experience as a soldier, he told me that for
the first year he was "frightened nearly to death
whenever he heard a gun fired, but that afterward
he "got used to the racket and came rather to like
it."^

Returning to the school from which I have
strolled into this long digression, I must tell you
that it was what is termed a "Church School" — an
institution in which religious instruction was given
the most prominent place in the curriculum. The
principal was a retired Episcopal minister^ and
though as pure and good a man as ever lived, he
was morbid on the subject of "converting" the
boys under his charge. With the best possible in-
tentions, he made the Bible and the church so dis-
agreeable and irksome as to render them absolutely
obnoxious to us.

Besides, there was a theological seminary in
the immediate neighborhood, the students of which

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 71

*

regarded us as furnishing the subjects on which to
exercise and perfect their faculty for saving souls —
just as the Internes of hospitals use the sick and
wounded under their charge to perfect their studies
and to prepare themselves for their prospective
professional work. As their religion was that
gloomy and revolting kind which bases its exist-
-ence upon the terrors of the law, breathes only an.
atmosphere of fire and damnation, and makes its
professors the embodiment of misery and despond-
ency, you can well imagine what were the impres-
sions made upon our youthful minds in regard to
this vital subject. We were taught that the
^slightest fun was a dreadful offense, an innocent jest
a veritable profanation, a hearty laugh a real
crime, and the slightest sigh or sign of weariness
in the House of God — never mind how many times
we were forced to enter or however long and boring
the sermon might be — the "un])ardonable sin" for
which the bottomless pit had been especially created
and was held in certain reserve.

Kach seminarian selected some hapless boy, and
assumed, as it were, the responsibility of his salva-
tion, praying over him, preaching to him, deluging
him with '^tracts," and worrying the poor fellow
out of his very life in the effort to ''turn him from
the error of his ways" and "to save his soul
alive," etc.

It fell to my lot to be appropriated by a gentle-
man somewhat advanced in years, as innocent as a
babe, a martyr to chronic dyspepsia, and the type
of a religion blacker than the hinges of Hades, and
as cheerless as the tomb of a mummy. He was a
pious man as he understood the term, but the very
last one for the work for which he believed himself
chosen. Some one else had been called when he
responded, and his connection with the ministry

72 A doctor's experiences

was emphatically a case of mistaken identity. He
may have found a resting place in Heaven, for he
needed and deserved repose ; but had he labored
eternally in his Master's vineyard his work would
have had nothing to show for itself when the day
of reckoning arrived. He was totally unfitted for
his mission — for the high and holy calling to which
he had consecrated his life — because of the inher-
ent weakness of his physical organism and the mor-
bid mental condition which long years of disease^
and insomnia had developed ; but, unconscious of
his imperfections, he struggled bravely to prepare
for the ministry, and deluding himself with dreams
of the harvest of human souls which awaited his
reaping, and the ''crown of glory" with which his
labors were to be rewarded in the end.

He certainly labored faithfully to keep my "feet
in the right path," and despite my abhorrence of his
religion, and the annoyance of his constant surveil-
lance, I came to like the old man ; and when our
intimacy terminated I missed him greatly, and
often sighed for his companionship, his eternal
prayers, and tuneless hymns, to the contrary not-
withstanding.

As was his habit, he accompanied me on one of
my Saturday excursions to Washington, ostensibly
to see the sights of that great city, but really to
keep me out of the snares which were spread for
the unwary, and on our return he insisted that I
should spend the night with him at the seminary
■ — assured, as he said, that the principal would be
content to have me do so.

I yielded to his entreaties with reluctance, be-
cause I was dreadfully fatigued and desired to re-
tire without unnecessary delay either in scriptural
reading or in prayer making.

After a long grace and a poor sujiper we went

IN THREE CONTINENTS. ^ 73

up to his room, where he proposed prayers as a pre-
liminary to retiring for the night. We knelt down
reverently, and after reading some time from the
prayer book, he started off upon an extemporaneous
piayer, which he began with some excellent advice
to the Good Lord respectins: the fall of Adam, and
ended — when and where it is impossible for me to
say, as, being completely overcome by fatigue, I
fell asleep. How long I slept I have no means of
determining. All I know is that after a while
consciousness returned, and I found myself still
upon my knees, the candle flickering in its socket,
and my clerical friend in bed snoring loudly,
''tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep" hav-
ing overtaken him as he waited for the conclusion
of my supposed devotions. I crept stealthily to
bed, and when I awakened on the succeeding morn-
ing, the good old man was standing at my bedside
with upturned eyes and lifted arms, "thanking
God,'' as he said, "for the answer which had come
to his prayers, as manifested in the occurrence of
the previous night, when a Christian hoy had found
the strength to continue his prayers when he, a
Christian man, had been compelled to give up from
physical exhaustion, and retire to his bed and sleep.
I made no comment, but dressed hurriedly, and after
listening to' a 'long prayer from the theologian —
which came near putting me to sleep again — bade
adieu to my delighted host and returned to school.
On the succeeding day the principal sent for me,
told me of the flattering terms in which the semi-
narian had spoken of my good conduct and great
piety; gave me permission to "pass bounds" at
discretion; off'ered his private study for my "daily
devotions;" and from that time forward treated
me v^^ith pre-eminent respect and consideration. I
suppose it was my duty to explain, but these good

*74 A doctor's EXPERIENCi^S

Christians were made so happy at this practical
proof of the success of their labors, and I was re-
lieved from such an amount of persecution that I
determined to preserve a judicious silence, and to
let things take their natural course.

I saw' but little of my friend, the seminarian,
after this incident, although he continued to send
''tracts" and to write letters — so as to confirm
and strengthen my faith, as he expressed it — for,
thinking his work completed so far as I w^as con-
cerned, he devoted his time and talents to the con-
version of another boy, and left me to my devotions.

Was this an instance of the luck to wdiich I have
referred, or was it a Providential interposition?
Of one thing I am sure in this connection: had
these persecutions continued they would have com-
pletely destroyed the seeds of religion which my
mother had sowm so carefully in my heart and left
me utterly and hopelessly without faith of any de-
scription. As it was, they were terribly blighted
and it required many a long year of faithful nurs-
ing by a tender and loving hand to revivify them.

Let me ask you, my dear Doctor, bef )re proceed-
ing with this history, how it is that such radical
mistakes are made in the choice of professions?
Take the ministry, for instance. Is there one
preacher in a thousand wdio has any special fitness
for his mission — who. was made for the pulpit ? Is
it not only in exceptional instances that one is to be
found who is anything more than a stumbling block
in the path of humanity, or wdio does more than
mechanically and monotonously point out the right
path to sinners ? How many of the clergy can you
name who in daily walk or in the discharge of their
sacred trust are veritable exemplars of the creed
w^hich they pretend to preach, and real followers of
the Divinity whom they profess to worship? Take

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 75

the medical profession as another illustration.
Who of those who hold the degree can you vouch
for as true physicians, genuine ministers of mercy,
and real devotees of science ? How many are there
to whom the practice of medicine is anything more
than a matter of routine or a ladder for personal
ambition ? How long is the list of those who seek
to penetrate the surface of objective phenomena, to
soar to the heights of discovery, and to w^rite their
names upon the records of medicine and in the
history of the age? Alas ! you know full well that
but too many are satisfied with the merest smatter-
ing of medical knowledge, content with the crudest
washings from the mines of science, and aspire to
nothing beyond the foot-prints of their predecessors,
without giving a thought to the elevation of them-
selves and the advancement of their profession !

One of the strangest things, too^ is the desire
which medical men manifest to become teachers of
medicine, while the intensity of this aspiration
seems to have an inverse ratio to their ability to
impart instruction. There seems to be a charm
about the title of " Professor" which it is difficult
for many physicians to resist, and they seek it with
the rapacity of sharks in pursuit of their prey. I
am sure these observations will immediately recall
to your memory a mutual friend who once figured
in this mistaken role. Of an unprepossessing ap-
pearance ; wath a superciliousness almost unparal-
leled; having a voice which resembled more that
of a sick crow than of a human being ; imperfectly
educated in all regards, but especially so in the
branch which he represented, and without a single
professional gift, or grace, or accomplishment, he
gloried in his title, and imagined himself unrivaled
as a lecturer. The style of his descent from his
carriage, the ceremony of his entrance into the

^76 A doctor's experiences

lecture-room, and the pomposity of his performance
on the rostrum, were a study in themselves, and
would have lurnished a choice theme for the pen of
a Dickens or a Thackeray. No man could have
witnessed the fantastic performances of this '' great
professor" without splitting his sides with laughter
or garnering in his memory a perpetual source of
diversion and amusement. In short, his manner
and style were so unique, extraordinary, prepos-
terous, and ridiculous as to transcend the power of
words to describe or to perpetuate. For a while
the students restrained their disgust and submitted
unmurmuringly to his assumptions, but when they
discovered that his examinations were as rigid as
if he were really capable of imparting instruction —
actually had a right to expect his hearers to know
something of the subject, which his lecture only
served to obscure and complicate — they perempto-
rily refused to permit him to lecture. Whenever
he presented himself, they overwhelmed him with
applause, cheering and encoring him at the highest
pitch of their voices, and drowning his every word
in a tempest of noisy demonstrations. It was in
vain that he tried first to cajole and then to threaten
them — he was persistently received in the same way
until mortified and beaten he was compelled to re-
tire from the rostrum. The authorities of the
College intervened without effect, and he finally
came to me and earnestly solicited my assistance.
Although I could but sympathize with the students,
I felt that they were in the wrong — that they had
taken the law into their own hands, and were in a
state of actual rebellion — and I promised to inter-
pose and to use my influence to relieve him from
his painful dilemma. Oq the succeeding day I
premised my lecture by saying : Gentlemen, I am
sure you will admit that I have tried to do my duty

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 77

as a professor in this school, and will recognize in
me a friend to each and to all of you. 1 have then
a favor to ask, and to reinforce it by what some
might call a threat. I want you to promise me
that you will permit the Professor of to con-
tinue his lectures ; and as you desire the vote of
the Professor of Surgery, I am confident you will
not disturb him again." This was received with a
round of applause, and I felt that I had won the day
for my colleague — and such really proved to be the
case, for he had no difficulty with the class from
that time forward. Now, what do you suppose was
my recompense for this friendly and successful in-
tervention ? It was nothing less than the eternal
hatred of him who had thus been saved from dis-
grace and ruin. He affected to believe that I was
the author of the conspiracy, and that the class had
finally yielded against my real wishes^ influenced
solely by the apprehension of losing so valued a
teacher.

Beware, my dear friend, of an inherent fool whose
heart is surcharged with vanity, for of all men he
is least to be trusted and the surest to prove un-
grateful. Besides, I had rather rely upon the con-
sideration of a rabid dog than the gratitude of a
resuscitated viper.

•78 A doctor's experiences

LETTER V.

AX EPISODE.

My Dear Doctor :

Availing myself of the privilege secured by
''early piety," as I have fully explained in a pre-
ceding page of this narrative, I have indeed gone
beyond ''school bounds" in the foregoing disserta-
tion on human folly, incompetency, and ingrati-
tude. I must beg you, therefore, to return with
me to Fairfax, and to let rae talk again of my
school days.

I frequently visited a neighboring town in com-
pany with Landon Eliason, a comrade over whose
early grave I have since shed many a tear. His
mother belonged to the Carter family, one of the
oldest and best of the State, and she was as splen-
did a specimen of womanhood as ever I met.
Within her hospitable doors some of my happiest
days were spent, and I can but speak of her with
gratitude and pleasure. At that time she was liv-
ing with her aged and infirm mother, dispensing
that generous and genial hospitality for which her
race had so long been distinguished, even in old
Virginia. She had several sons, all remarkable
for their personal beauty and accomplishments^
and it was ber delight to assemble the young peo-
ple of the town under her roof for their entertain-
ment and diversion. At one of these gatherings I
met a beautiful girl, and fell in love with her — so
desperately, in fact, that for many a long year she

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 79

was the star that guided me and the divinity at
whose shrioe I worshiped.

Of sylph-like figure, as graceful as a fawn, with
an eye in which the sunlight of Heaven was mir-
rored, and a voice that was music idealized, she
was the most consummate flirt that a southern sun
ever developed. Every boy above sixteen loved
her to distraction, and each believed himself the
special object of her affections. To me she seemed
a vision of perfect beauty — a glimpse of Paradise —
a special revelation from Heaven — and I loved her
with all the fervor and idolatry of an intensely po-
etic and sensitive nature.

I told you that she was inherently a flirt, and I
will give you one of my reasons for believing so. One
night Landon and I walked home with her, for
friends as we were, neither had an idea of giving
the other the slightest advantage so far as she was
concerned. Seizing a favorable opportunity, I
slipped iny hand within the muff which she car-
ried, and after a brief interval I was delighted to
touch a hand which closed upon mine responsively.
For about three hundred yards of space, though it
seemed but a single instant of time, I was the hap-
piest of mortals, believing that while she talked to
my friend in honeyed words, I held her hand in
loving embrace and possessed her heart as well.
Just as she reached her mother's door she held up
her hands exultingly, and with the merriest laugh
that ever broke the stillness of tlie solemn night,
exclaimed: '^Well, young men, how do you like
each other's hands?" ^vhen Landon and I discov-
ered that we were " sold," for both of us had exe-
cuted the same manoeuver as regards the muff', and
we had been squeezing each other's hands instead
of our sweetheart's for the entire distance.

I returned to school in a dreadful state of mind

80 A doctor's experiences

— desperately in love and utterly despondent —
and, without any previous knowledge of the pos-
session of the ^'poetic gift," 1 wrote upon the
blank page of the Livy that I pretended to study
the following Byronic effusion :

Oh ! for a drop from Lethe's stream

That flo^Yed in days of yore —
A drop to snatch me from this dream

And make me love no more ;
A drop from ^Memory's page to blot

Each hne that's written there,
A drop to make my future lot

Oblivion — not despair.

This depression was not of long duration. It
was replaced, if not by a hopeful state of mind, at
least by a determination to win the prize at all
hazards, and without regard to the timerequiied
for the task. A new life was born within me, and
I became at once the most earnest and studious of
boys. From that moment I stood at the head of my
classes and carried off the highest marks in all the
public examinations. My pride and ambition were
stimulated to the highest degree and I determined
to make a name for myself, not only in the little
world of Clarens but in the grander arena of real
life. Much of what I have accomplished since, ^t
school, in the University^ and wherever my destiny
has been cast, is due to the direct influence of the
passion which this young girl inspired — to the as-
piration to excel, the power of concentration, and
the fixedness of j)nrpose which it developed within
me.

The finale of this affair is sufficiently interesting
to bear relating. Six years afterward I found my-
self at ^ en route to Philadelphia to complete

my medical studies. I had made this long detour
because I desired to hear from her who had so lonoj

\

IN THREE CONTINENTS. ' 81

been the object of my idolatry, the words of cheer
or of doom, which, as I then believed, would de-
cide my fate forever. With trembling limbs and
a beating heart I ascended the steps so familiar in
the days of my boyhood, sent in my card, and was
received by the young lady — as kindly as if I had
been a long-absent brother, but with the assurance
that I had loved, labored, and suffered in vain —
that she did not love me, and could never be my
wife. I said nothing, because I felt that if the
long years through wdiich I had worshiped so per-
sistently at the shrine of her beauty spoke nothing
in my behalf, it was useless to utter a word of pro-
test or appeal ; and I went on my way, feeling as
every earnest and disappointed man does under
such circumstances. I thought I saw a tear on her
cheek as I left the room, but I did not linger to
ask its meaning, or to contrast its significance with
that of the emphatic language of her lips. And
thus we parted, never to meet again — as I sup-
posed.

After I had been in Philadelphia some ten days,
I awakened one morning greatly impressed by a
•dream. I dreamed that I had received a letter
from my sweetheart, expressing regr.et at her con-
duct and recalling me to her side ; and I remem-
bered with distinctness alike the general tenor of
this communication and its external appearance.
I immediately awakened my room-mate, told him
of my dream, and begged him to accompany me to
the post office. He was utterly incredulous, but,
being the best-hearted fellow in the world, he
dressed quickly and went with me. In response
to my inquiry, I was first told that there was " no
letter for Dr. Edward Warren," but having im-
portuned the agent to look for a letter addressed
to ''Edward Warren, M. D.," he kindly did so,

0

82 A doctor's experiences

and handed me a letter exactly similar in appear-
ance and in tenor to the one which I had seen in
my dream. Without stopping to comment on this
extraordinary occurrence — this singular realization
of a dream — I will simply say that the next morn-
ing found me in , the happiest of human be-
ings in anticipation of the coming interview with
the object upon w^hich the deepest lo\^e of my na-
ture had been lavished for so many years. The
hour arrived, and 1 was made supremely happy
by the confession — seemingly made with entire
frankness — that, from the first and throughout^
her heart had been wholly and exclusively mine.
Oh, the rapture of love's young dream ! Oh,
the bliss of love's first confession ! Life has nothing
else comparable with it.

" Devotion wafts the soul above,
But Heaven itself descends in love."

I returned to Philadelphia with perfect peace
and joy reigning in my heart, prouder than the
conqueror who sighed for new worlds over which to
extend his dominion, and believing that my path-
way was to be illuminated with perpetual sunshine
and strewn with never-fading flowers. How beau-
tiful everything appeared to me ! How kindly I
felfc toward all mankind ! How faithfully I studied
and tried to excel ! I poured out my feelings in a
flood tide of impassioned letters ; I addressed son-
nets innumerable to my lady love ; the mails
groaned under the weight of the love tokens which
I sent to my darling ; and I lived for weeks in a
state of exaltation which approached to delirium.
Suddenly, a cloud overspread the heaven which cano-
pied the fairy land wherein I dwelt so happily, and
filled it with darkness and my very soul with ter-
ror. The missives which had been my daily solace

IN THREE CONTINENTS. H'S

and inspiration came no more ; and I was plunged
into a slough of doubt and apprehension. It was
in vain that I invoked every conceivable means to
obtain a solution of the mystery — only the simple
fact remained that she wrote no more and that I
was miserable because of her silence. So soon as
the examinations were over, without waiting for
commencement- day and the distribution of di-
plomas, I started for Washington, having dis-
covered by the merest accident that she was stay-
ing there with some relatives. I saw her and
heard from her own lips the strange and inexplicable
announcement that she was " engaged to another
and intended soon to marry him.'' She, in fact, had
been engaged to him for many months, even when
she recalled me and promised to be my wife; and
she did marry him within a few weeks after our final
interview. I demanded no explanation ; I spoke
not an upbraiding word ; and I left her as quietly
as if she were only a casual acquaintance, and had
never held my heart-strings in her hands ; for the
confession that she loved another eradicated in-
stantaneously and eternally every element of the
love which I had cherished for her. As if by
magic the words so lightly spoken extinguished
the grand passion which for so many years had
been the controlling power of my being. Such is
the potency of pride when once it is thoroughly
aroused in the human heart — or at least in one
like mine. She married a good man, with a great
name, and I hope and believe that she was happy
in her wedded life.

I now realize it was ''all for the best," while
the influence of the passion which she inspired
helped to develop my character, and to impart
vitality to the ambition which has given a com-
plexion and a direction to my entire life.

S4: A doctor's experiexces

Speaking of ambition — the desire to excel, and
lo have that excellence recognized and rewarded —
reminds me of how often you have chaifed me for
being so much engrossed by that passion, and have
ui'ged me to put it away. It also recalls what my
friend, Governor Vance, once said in this connec-
tion. When I w^as promoted by the Legislature of
North Carolina to the rank of " brigadier-general "
as a special reward for my services as surgeon-gen-
eral of the State, some one asked the Govei^nor if
he thought I would accept the promotion in view of
the report which was then in circulation that all
persons holding the rank of general were to be
shot in the event of the failure of the Confeder-
acy? " Well," said he, '' I know Warren as well
as the next man, and I can tell you this about
him ; he would take the rank of brigadier-general
with the chalice of being shot on account of it at
the end of the war, but he would accept the rank
of major-general with the certainty of being shut
for it to-morrow." I have lived long enough to
appreciate the folly of a sentiment which carries
with it so much of unrest and anxiety in any
■event, and to wish from the bottom of my heart
that I had been content to spend my days in bliss-
ful ease under the elms of old Edenton, instead of
chasing an empty shadow around the world. Few
men, it is true, have reaped a larger harvest of
what the world calls honors — pardon the seeming
egotism of the assertion — and yet there lives not a
being who has grown more indiiferent to them.

My expei-ience at the "final examination" at
Clarens is especially apropos in this connection.

With one of my teachers I was never on good
terms, our want of fellowship being based upon
that inherent repulsion which plays so important a
Tolem human association. I had no idea, how-

IX THREE CONTINENTS. 85

ever, of his malignity until the occasion to which
I refer. There chanced to be only one problem in
geometry which I was not master of, and, on the
night preceding the public examination at the close
of the session I told him of this fact, and re-
quested him to question me on any other rather
than on that one. He smiled, and said he would
remember my request, which T interpreted to
mean that he would respect it and act fairly with
me.

On the succeeding day, with the house filled
with ladies and gentlemen — including the prin-
cipal and his family, the entire corps of teachers,
the students of the seminary, and many other
prominent persons — he called up the class in geom-
etry. After having read out the " marks " show-
ing the standing of the students for the entire ses-
sion, and of which I had by far the highest num-
ber, he examined us orally in the strictest manner,
and then sent three of us at the same time to the
blackboard. To my utter surprise and indigna-
tion, he gave me for demonstration the very prob-
lem which I did not understand, and concerning
which I had spoken to him on the previous even-
ing. Here was a dilemma indeed ! I could not
demonstrate it, and I felt that I had rather die than
fail, as this villainous teacher had so cunningly
planned. But I baffled him, nevertheless, by
doing that which I considered justifiable under the
circumstances While his attention was directed
to the others, I very quietly took another problem,
drew the diagram with great care, and turning to
the principal asked permission to demonstrate to
him, and proceeded to do so as perfectly as it could
be done. The teacher was too much taken by sur-
prise to interrupt me, but, when my work was
done, he remarked to the principal, " I shall mark

86 , A doctor's experiences

Edward Warren zero for bis demonstration," and
then dismissed us, perfectly beside himself with
rage. The moment the examination w^as over, I
sought an interview with the principal, told him
the whole story, and asked his forgiveness. After
a sharp lecture he did forgive me, restored my
standing, and refused to employ the teacher for
another session — telling him that though my
course was wrong, his was absolutely wicked.
Some years afterward I met this wretch, and
though he had become a minister of the gospel
and tried to be very friendly, I turned my back
upon him in absolute contempt and disgust.

Among my schoolmates were several who have
since made their mark in life, notably Custis Lee
and Beverly Ke/Unon, both of whom have shown
themselves men of character and talent.

Despite the overdose of religion, the peculiar
punishment of denying coffee to those who were
late at prayers, the hostility displayed by the
teacher at my last examination, and sundry other
petty annoyances, my school days at Clarens passed
pleasantly enough, and the dear old place has re-
mained a "green spot" in my memory through-
out the long years which have passed since I left
its friendly portals to take my chance in life.

An examination of the map of North Carolina
will show 3^ou that there is a narrow strip of land
interposed between the sounds and the ocean along
its entire coast line. This strip varies from one to
two miles in width, and is composed almost exclu-
sively of sand, which forms itself into hills and
ridges that continually change their form and po-
sition under the influence of the prevailing winds.
That portion of this sand-belt immediately oppo-
site Hoanoke Island is known as "Nag's Head,"
and it has long been a favorite resort of the inhab-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 87

itants of the Albemarle region, who visit it during
the summer months to escape the greater heat and
the more potent malaria of the interior.

My fatsher owned a cottage there, and I spent
my vacation in it — and a delightful one it was.
Nag's Head derives its name, according to tradi-
tion, from the habit which an old wrecker had of
tying a lantern to the head of his lame mare, and
then leading her along the shore on dark and
stormy nights, so as to allure ships to their doom
by conveying the idea that some other craft was
sailing in safety nearer shore. These wreckers
were a desperate set of men, and they lived exclu-
sively on the spoils of the deep — that is, by the
robbery of drowning sailors and the pillage of dis-
abled ships.

Among the most prominent of these ^4and pi-
rates" was a certain Parson Midgett, who resided
near Nag's Head, and prided himself equally on
his success in bringing sinners to repentance and
his skill in running ships ashore, with the pious
purpose of drowning their crew and of appropriat-
ing their cargoes. One Sunday — so the story goes
— he was rejoicing in the presence of a large and
enthused congregation, in ''anxious benches"
filled with stricken ''mourners," and in the work
of salvation which was progressing "like a house
afire." Just as his religious zeal had reached its
acme there was an announcement of "a wreck on
Kitty Hawk Beach," and the whole assembly
arose and made a rush for the scene of disaster,
expecting to reap there a welcomed harvest. With
stentorian voice^ and in the name of the Deity, the
preacher commanded a "halt," and forced the
brethren to resume their seats. Then, descending
with measured tread from the pulpit, and march-
ing solemnly down the aisle, with hands uplifted

88 A doctor's experiences

and eyes turned heavenward, and the most fiery of
his hymns swelling in thunder tones from his lips,
he finally reached the door, when he cried out:
"Fair play, fair play, sisters and brethren; let us
have a fair start; ' and he rushed off at full speed
for the wreck, leaving his deluded flock to catchup
with him if they could.

A new civilization has dawned upon these once
benipjhted shores, and the haunts of the "wreck-
ers" have been transformed into "life-saving sta-
tions," from which friendly beacons and succoring
hands greet the strusrslins: mariners, while Mid-
gett and his band have been exiled to a warmer if
not a better country.

I found this spot a perfect paradise for the gun -
ner and the fisherman, and I enjoyed its charms
with all the greater zest because of the hard work
which I had done at school in preparing myself for
college.

In company with my eldest sister, and in the
horse-cart — which was the only vehicle possible in
the sands — I wandered over the face of creation,
explored every hill and valley and creek and bay
of the Head, collecting shells, plucking flowers,
gathering grapes, picking chincapins, shooting
birds, catching fish, watching the angry breakers,
building castles in the air, forgetful that care ex-
isted or that there was any land save Eutopia.

In returning to Edenton after the war, the
steamer on which I was a passenger stopped at
Eoanoke Island, and turning toward the opposite
shore I searched for the old landmarks and habita-
tions of what was once Nag's Head. But the
search was a vain one — I could not find a vestige
of the once familiar objects, and everything looked
wild and drear and curious there. The ever-rest-
less sands had buried every trace of the verdure

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 89

which once stood out so conspicuously in the snowy
landscape, and had arranged themselves into new
and strange combinations of hills and plains and
valleys, totally changing the aspect of the place.
The houses, within the friendly walls of which so
many hours had been passed in brighter times, had
disappeared entirely, having succumbed to the
storms which had swept over them for a decade or
having furnished materials for the huts which the
fugitive negroes built elsewhere during the war.

Such a transformation, in truth, had been wrought
by the conjoint agency of the elements and the hand
of vandalism that I should never have recognized
the summer home of my boyhood ; and such a scene
of desolation and barrenness presented itself to my
view as I never conceived of before, and never saw
afterward until my lot was cast amid the sands of
the desert.

I was sad enough already, for in the wreck of the
•' lost cause" I had seen every trace of my property
disappear, and the plans and the hopes of a life-
time blasted, but, when I beheld the utter ruin
which had befallen Nag's Head — the complete de-
struction which had overtaken a spot with which
so many cherished memories were associated — I
broke down entirely, and, retiring to my cabin, I
spent the day in tears and solitude, feeling, indeed,

" Like one who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled, whose garlands dead,
And all but me departed."

I have since learned that, with the financial re-
cuperation of that section, a day of renewed pros-
perity has dawned upon Nag's Head, and that it
has again become a resort for crowds of visitors as
gay and as joyous even as those who frequented it

90 A doctor's experiences

in other days. How I should like once more to
gather shells upon its beautiful beach, to feel its
refreshing breezes on my brow, and to hear its
breakers roar, as in the olden time!

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 91

LETTER V I.

COLLEGE DAYS.

My Dear Doctor :

I had intended to go with Landon Eliason and
other classmates to Princeton, but my father was
too ardent a Virginian to permit me to matriculate
in any other college than the university of his na-
tive State.

In those days the railroad from Richmond ran
only as far as Gordonsville, and the remainder of
the journey had to be accomplished in a stage coach.
I came very near never accomplishing it at all ; for,
on reaching Gordonsville, the germs of malaria
which I had absorbed in my rambles by the sea
developed into a full-blown "remittent fever/' and
for several days I lay there hovering between life
and death. One of my old schoolmates whom I
had met en route shamefully abandoned me, but a
negro connected with the hotel nursed me with
great tenderness, and really saved my life. I was
too ill to ask for a doctor, and nobody seemed to
think of sending for one, so my constitution had to
fight it out with the disease, and finally won the
day, but I was left in a state of great physical weak-
ness and mental depression. In all previous attacks
of sickness I had my father's skill and my mother's
tenderness to rely upon, and I had no conception
of what it was to suffer in solitude and among
strangers. The lesson taught me was a hard one,
and I could not forget it were I to live to the age
of Methuselah.

92 A doctor's experiences

So soon as it became practicable I had myself
lifted into the stage-coach and carried to the Uni-
versity. The effort proved too much, however, for
my strength, and immediately on my arrival I ex-
perienced a relapse, and had a repetition of my
experiences at Gordonsville. It was many weeks
before I could commence my studies, and when 1
did so, the class had already gone over so much
ground that the session was practically lost to me
— much to my humiliation and detriment. During
the whole of this painful period I did not com-
municate to my friends at home a single fact relat-
ing to my illness, but on the contrary I wrote them
cheerful and hopeful letters, in order to save them
the pain and anxiety which a true statement of the
case would have occasioned.

In this I made a great mistake, for when I re-
turned to Edenton in the succeeding summer I
looked so thin and wretched that my parents were
shocked and distressed immeasureably. Besides,
my father had expected such great things in the way
of scholastic honors from my habits of study and my
ambition to excel, that he could not help feeling
disappointed — the more >so as I had not prepared
him for mv failure. The s^ood old man actuallv
shed tears when he subsequently read over the list
of the ''distinguished," and found that my name,
which he had expected to see at the head of the
" roll of honor," did not appear in it at all.

The previous session had been an exciting and
memorable one. A party of students having im-
bibed rather freely before visiting a traveling
menagerie and circus, provoked an encounter with
the company, which proved most disastrous. See-
ing that those who commenced the difficulty were
getting the worst of it, their comrades, though in
no way responsible for the affray, went to their as-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 93

sistance, with the result of a general fight of the
most savage character. The students were un-
armed, while the men of the menagerie pulled up
the stakes surrounding the ring, and used them
with terrific effect. A number of students were
severely wounded, and young Glover, of Georgia,
Avas killed outright. This unfortunate youth was
one of the most respected members of the college,
and had joined in the melee exclusively from an
esjyrit de corps. So soon as the intelligence of this
«ad event reached the University the great bell
was rung, the whole body of students assembled
upon the lawn, and a resolution was taken to
march immediatply to Charlottesville, and to
avenge their murdered comrade. The rumor of
their approach preceded them, and when they ar-
rived at the scene of the disturbance the showmen
had fled, leaving their tents and wagons behind
them. In a state of the wildest excitement the
students took measures at once to destroy the
abandoned property, and to pursu8 its owners so as
to bring them to summary justice. At this junc-
ture the civil authorities intervened, and by dint
of much persuasion, and a promise to take imme-
diate steps to arrest the fugitives and to have them
duly tried, they succeeded in inducing the students
to return to their quarters and to let the law have
its course. I am sorry to say, however, that
though the culprits were captured^ confined in jail,
and finally tried, they escaped punishment, be-
cause of the difficulty of identifying the man who
struck the fatal blow. The remains of poor Glover
were conveyed to college and deposited in the
University burying ground, where a beautiful
monument was erected over them. It was said
that the only weapon which the students possessed
was a pistol which some one placed in the hands

94 A doctor's experiences

of Jack Seddorij a brother of the Hon. James A.
Secldori, late Confederate Secretary of War, and a
cousin of mine. Instead of discharging it, he, with
^reat presence of mind, used it to menace the in-
furiated showmen while he rescued in turn three
wounded students and brought them out in safety.

Sad as was this event, a story is told of one of
the principal parties concerned in the light which
I have never been able to think of without laugh-
ing heartily. It seems that the most drunken man
in the crowd which commenced the affray was re-
turning to the University with some of his com-
rades when he suddenly commenced to wail and
weep as if he were in great agony. His friends at
first thought that he was suffering from the pain
of his wounds, and they tried to console him in
that regard ; but he answered nothing and went
on with his crying. They then concluded that he
was grieving over the death of Glover and his in-
direct agency in producing it, and they endeavored
to relieve his mind as far as they could on. that
point, but with no better success ; he still refused
to explain, and continued to weep as if his heart
would break. Finally, one of his comrades having
grown weary with the pertinacity of his lamenta-
tions, shook him by the shoulder, and demanded :
"What the h — 1 are you crying about?" This
seemed to arouse him to a consciousness of his sur-
roundings, and he stopped abruptly and said: ''You
are all wrong, boys. I ani not crying on account
of my wounds or even over poor Glover's death ; I
am not thinking of those things now ; but my
heart is just broken over the mortifying reflection
that the rascals beat jiie — a Smith of Virginia —
with the stick they stirred the monkeys up with."

That summer was, indeed, a disastrous one.
We were hardly settled in our cottage by the sea

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 95

before we were visited by a fearful cyclone. For
about six hours the hurricane raged from the direc-
tion of the sea, breaking every pane of glass on the
exposed side of the house, deluging us with water,
and threatening at every moment to level the frail
structure to the ground. It then veered round
and blew with equal fury from the opposite quar-
ter, sweeping away the windows that remained,
nearly drowning us again, and shaking the house
from roof to foundation. My father had remained
at home, and it fell to my lot to take charge of the
family during these long hours of fright and peril.
With the help of the servants, I moved the beds to
positions of comparative safet^y , placed my mother
and the children upon them, and then hung blankets
and counterpanes above and around them. I like-
wise nailed similar articles over the dilapidated
windows, swept away the water which flooded the
house, placed all the provisions under the beds,
and played the role generally of a skipper on ship-
board, and in a very frail craft besides.

When the wind blew from the direction of the
sound, the tide in a few moments attained a height
of sixty feet — reaching nearly to the summit of the
sand hill on which the house was built — and pre-
sented a new danger in the threatened overflow of
the entire sand belt which separates the sound and
the sea. Fortunately, the wind abated before the
catastrophe was consuai mated, and we breathed
freely again, but with a full realization of the dan-
ger from which we had so narrowly and providen-
tially escaped.

In the midst of the great peril of the situation,
it was impossible to avoid an intense interest in the
fate of a number of ships which during the first
hours of the cyclone were driven toward the
land — the "lee shore" of the mariner's vocabulary.

96 A doctor's experiences

Most of them were fortunate enough to escape the
danger, but several became involved in the breakers
and were wrecked on the sands.

Some lives were lost, and the beach was strewn
with wreckage, while in the way of salvage and
loot the natives gathered an abundant harvest.

My eldest sister was just eighteen that summer,
and few lovelier girls had ever been reared in Caro-
lina. She was universally esteemed not less for
her personal charms than for the loveliness of her
disposition. Those soft gray eyes of hers mirrored
a soul which was the home of the tenderest, gentlest,
and noblest sentiments. With her, religion seemed
to be an instinctive sentiment, directing and hal-
lowing her every thought and act, and spreading
perpetual sunshine around her pathway.

We were reared together, and during her entire
life I never knew her to give way to the slightest
manifestation of anger or to speak an unkind word
or to think for a single moment of her own pleasure
until she had first secured that of others. Indeed,
she not only had the face of a Madonna, but the
guilelessness and the gentleness of an angel from
heaven.

It was her misfortune to love a man of splendid
genius and of the highest character, but with the
taint of madness in his blood, and though my
father adored his daughter, he regarded it as an
imperative duty to forbid their union. The poor
girl yielded to his wishes, but she could not eradi-
cate the fatal passion from her heart, and she sank
into a state of the most profound melancholy and
depression. Unfortunately, she was seized just at
that critical time with malarial fever, and died of
a congestive chill on the third day of her illness.

I remember her death-bed as distinctly as if I
had seen it but yesterday, though nearly forty years

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 97

have elapsed since I stood beside it, and saw those
beautiful eyes close forever.

What a terrible thing is death ! How the sun
darkens and the moon pales and the flowers fade
and life loses its charm under the blight of its
presence ! And then after the first shock of agony
is over, and the full reality of loss and separation
comes, what a dreary pall overspreads existence,
and how utterly empty and worthless the world
and even heaven seem !

She was near my own age, and she had been the
companion of my entire life ; I had no thought or
aspiration to which she was a stranger ; and when
I saw her put away in the cheerless earth my heart
felt a pang which rent its every fiber, and left a
wound which has not healed though nearly half a
century has poured its balm upon it.

My parents were utterly crushed by this blow,
together with the painful circumstances surround-
ing it, and our once happy home was transformsd
into a scene of mourning and an abode of sorrow.
We carried her remains to Edenton and buried them
in the churchj^ard of old St. Paul's, among the
friends of her childhood, where we all then hoped
to sleep when '' the last of earth" had come, never
dreaming that our paths were to separate so widely,
and that our bodies were to be scattered to the
winds of heaven. How little do we know of the
future, even as it relates to the locality of a final
resting place ! Of those who have borne my father's
name, one sleeps upon the banks of the James,
another 'mid the sands of the desert, another in the
historic soil of St. Germain, and still another be-
neath the elms of Greenmount, while fate has or-
dained that none of those who loved her so tenderly
shall rest by her side, in the old graveyard at
Edenton.

98' A doctor's experiences

During this dreary season I received a letter fiom
the editors of ''The University Magazine," the
organ of the literary societies of the institution,
asking a contribution from my pen for the number
which was to appear with the opening of the ses-
sion. I therefore remounted my Pegasus, and at-
tempted to soar to the realms of poesy.

That had been the ''great battle summer," when
revolutions in the name of liberty had been at-
tempted in nearly all of the countries of Europe,
and the names of O'Brien, Kossuth, Bern, and of
the whole "^ army of martyrs" were upon every
tongue.

I reproduce the verses from memory, and you
must take them for "what they are worth."

The Ijanner of freedom is trailing,

The heroe.-^ who bore it are slain,
And the hearts of patriots failing,

Despair of its waving again ;
For the hojies which told of a morrow,

Untainted by tyranny's breath,
Have proved only beacons of sorrow.

Alluring to exile or death.

Tho' loud shouts of gladness are ringing

Throughout the green valleys of Gaul,
And pagans her children are singing

O'er royalty's terrible fall ;
Tho' cover'd with undying glory.

The land of the '* vine and the dance,"
Oppression still revels all gory,

In the heart of beautiful France.

And thou, brightest gem of the ocean !

Where now is thy patriot son ?
What palm has his noble devotion

To thee and to liberty won ?
With fetters, alas ! they have bound him

In a dungeon, far over the sea,
But, heedless of shackles around him,

He weeps only, Erin, for thee !

i

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 99

Novv^ Niobe's pulses are leaping,

With visions of glory once more ;
And hushed is the voice of weeping,

On her classic but desolate shore.
Alas! the bright dream is as fleeting'

As the foam on the crest of the surge,
And the shock of Republicans meeting,

Is fair freedom's expiring dirge.

Again that proud banner is streaming

From Hungary's mountains of snow,
And gaily are all its folds gleaming

With a bright but transient glow ;
For fiercely the Black Eagle swooping,

A cloud o'er its brilliancy flings.
And leaves it, all tattered and dropping,

'Neath the blow of its powerful wings.

For freedom the Magyars have striven,

Tho' bravely, alas ! but in vain,
For round them, still firm and unriven,

Are the links of a festering chain ;
But the page that's brightest in story

Will tell what their courage has done,
While onward, in grandeur and glory,

Marches ever yon radiant sun.

Tho' tyranny's bosom be heaving

With joy at the victory won.
Still fame a green chaplet is weaving

To bind round each patriot son ;
Tho' clouds of misfortune may lower

O'er Kossuth and chivalrous Bem,
Yet their deeds will like monuments tower,

In honor immortal of them. ^

No, never were richer oblations

Yet offered on altar or shrine.
Than the blood which these val'rous nations.

Fair freedom ! have lavished on thine ;
And the din of the mighty commotion,

When the standard of liberty fell.
Will roll o'er eternity's ocean.

Like the toll of a funeral bell.

I turn from these pictures of sadness.

My country ! once more unto thee.
And hail with ineffable gladness

The home of the just and the free !

100 A doctor's experiences

The land of the true and undaunted,

AVhose soil no tyrant has trod ;
The refuge of nations, anointed

By the hands of a merciful God ! '

Though these lines are not poetry, they struck
the fancy of the college boys, especiall}'' as they
were in accord with the spirit of the times.

This gave me a good start for that session, and
despite my depression of spirits and an occasional
attack of malarial fever, I did well also in all of my
classes.

The chair of mental and moral philosophy was
filled at that time by Dr. Wm. H. McGuffy, a
good man and an able teacher. Although not an
orator in the highest signification of that term, yet
as a lecturer he was clear, concise, and convincing
to a remarkable degree ; and I feel under the
greatest possible obligation to him, for he did more
to develop my mind and to mold my character
than all other professors combined. He found me
a boy in all regards, and he made me a man, in-
tellectually and morally. He taught me how to
think and to utilize my powers and acquire-
ments, while he inspired my heart with pure
thoughts and sound principles. He never preached
in the lecture-room or worried himself over the
conversion of his students, but he inculcated, with
infinite judgment^ a deep and broad Christian
philosophy as a rule of conduct and a chart for
life. I am confident that by his marvelous tact
and sound reasoning he did more to counteract in-
fidel tendencies and to sow the seeds oF sound ethi-
cal views than all the canting seminarians together.

With rare penetration he at once detected the
intellectual and moral peculiarities of each of his
students, and adroitly applied himself to the task
of cultivating or of pruning, as the special case re-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 101

quired. His delight was to take a man ''^una-
wares"— as the boys expressed it — and thus to
test both caliber and acquirements. One day,
when I had to plead ^'unprepared on account of
sickness " — for I had actually been too ill to attend
lectures or to engage in study — he said: "Never
mind about that ; I will try you on general prin-
ciples/' and deliberately "put me through " on
some of the most difficult problems of "Butler's
Analogy." He was brimful of fun as well, and
never permitted an opportunity to pass without
having his little joke ; but he invariably managed
to draw out of it something of practical benefit to
the class. One of his students — a great fool and a
very pedantic one — always answered the Doctor's
questions with much verbosity and a great affecta-
tion of knowledge. On a certain occasion he
called up this Mr. G., and propounded some sim-
ple question, when the idiot, placing either thumb
in the arm-holes of his vest and throwing his head
back like a peacock on parade, jDroceeded to give a
lengthy and flourishing answer, wdiich concluded
with the words "and so forth." The Doctor list-
ened attentively to the end of the chapter, and
then very quietly remarked: "Well, sir, all of
that may be true, though it is beyond my com
prehension, but the proper answer to the ques-
tion is included in the last words of your discourse,
the ^^ and so forth. ^' Our peacock was never so
voluminous or magnificent afterward, and I ob-
served that his name did not figure in the list of
graduates of the school of mental and moral phi-
losophy.

Just a week previous to the final examination 1
w^as seized with an attack of malarial fever, which,
as it precluded a review ot the course, rendered, as
1 supposed^ my graduation an impossibility. The

102 A doctor's experiences

night before the day of trial I visited the Doctor,
and told him that I felt compelled to '' withdraw"
for the reason given. In a moment he made me
very happy by saying : "No, sir ; don't think of
it. 1 shall graduate yon on your general stand-
ing in the class, for you have received the ^ max-
imum mark' for every recitation during the entire
session. I shall not, therefore, take into consider-
ation the ^ written examination ' of to-morrow, in
deciding the question of your graduation." I
went into the examination room with a light heart,
but I did my level best to answer the questious
proposed, and I had the gratification of learning
afterward that I received the '' hiodiest mark" for
them.

This great and good man has gone to his re-
ward, which has assuredly been that of the right-
eous, as he did his duty faithfully and well in all
relations. Peace be to his ashes and honor to his
memory ! His proudest monument is the success
which has been achieved by those who listened to
his instructions — by those who, by remembering his
teaching and followinf^ his example, have come out
victors in the battle of life.

It is a source of pride and satisfaction to remem-
ber that I, too, '' sat at the feet of Gamaliel."

One of the most charming men in the faculty
was the professor of modern languages. Dr. Scheie
de Vere. Being a foreigner, and having manj^ of
the peculiarities of his native country, it was a long-
time before he could establish agreeable relations
with the students. His strange accent ; the curious
blunders of language which every man '' not to
the manner born" must necessarily make in lectur-
ing in an alien tongue ; the ultra' style of his
clothes, and the thousand odd conceits which he
displayed in as many connections, made him for

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 103

years distasteful to the boys and the object of
their perpetual ridicule. But, after a while^ he be-
came more acclimated — less eccentric in language,
manner, dress, and general deportment — and an
opportunity was furnished for a better comprehen-
sion of him, both as a man and as a professor, with
the result of showing him to be an accomplished
scholar, an admirable teacher, and one of the
kindest and most genial of men. I always liked
and admired him, and after I had become a gradu-
ate of his school and we met on more even terms
our relations culminated in a w^arm and enduring
friendship. He still lives, an honor to the school,
an ornament to society, a valued worker in the
field of literature, and the object of great affection
among the students and alumni of the University.

The most noted man of the faculty was the late
William B Rogers. As a philosopher, a scientist,
a lecturer, and a gentleman, the countr}- has not
produced his superior. He 'occupied the chair of
natural philosophy, and his lectures were models
alike of eloquence and of scientific merit. He
certainly was the most dramatic and impressive
man I ever saw in the lecture room, as well as the
most attractive and entertaining. Grenius was
written in unmistakable characters upon his brow;
eloquence flowed in a copious and unbroken stream
from his lips ; grace showed itself in every line
and movement of his spare but symmetrical figure^
and it was impossible to see or to hear him without
realizing the presence of a man upon whom nature
had lavished her choicest gifts.

Having carried a letter of introduction to him
from my relative. Dr. Thomas D. Warren, who
had known him at Williamsburg, where his first
laurels were won, he showed me great kindness and
consideration. I recall with pleasure an instance

104 A doctor's experiences

in which he especially treated me as a friend and a
gentleman. One night I was visiting Dick Syl-
vester— who died of yellow fever at Norfolk in
1855 — when a cry of "fire" was raised on the
eastern range. We immediately rushed to the
scene of the conflagration, as did every student in
the vicinity, and on arriving there we found that
some drunken fellows had collected all the gates
which they could detach from their hinges, and
had made a bonfire of them. As the night was
cold, and I had just left a heated room, I naturally
turned up the collar of my coat for warmth and
protection. You can imagine my surprise and in-
dignation when I learned some days subsequently
that an officer of the college had formally reported
me as '' one of the gate burners," upon the ground
that I had been seen at the fire " in disguise."

I could scarcely believe that so great a wrong
had been perpetrated, and I went immediately to
the officer in question, and demanded to know
whether or not he had made such a report. To
my surprise, he answered angrily and brutally that
he had " made such a report, and was responsible
for it." My first impulse was to resent his arro-
gance and injustice in a very decided manner, but
I contented myself with pi'onouncing the report a
falsehood^ and the assurance that I would "not
submit tamely to such an outrage."

I then sought the dean, who was Prof. Rogers,
told him the story, and demanded the most search-
ing investigation. He patted me kindly upon the
shoulder, and said in that bland and charming
way which distinguished him: " Restrain your ex-
citement, my young friend. I threw the report
in the fire as soon as it was received and said noth-
ing to the faculty about it, because from my
knowledge of your character I was certain that it

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 105

could not be true. Now, I shall call upon the in-
former either to apologize or to leave." He did
as he promised, and the apology was duly made,
but I recognized that I had made an enemy and
a malignant one from that time forward. I simply
defied him, however, and left him to make what
discoveries and reports he could during my connec-
tion with'the college..

106 A DOCTOR S EXPERIEXCES

LETTER VII.

STUDY OF A PROFESSIOX.

My Dear Doctor :

I joined the Jefferson Society, which was then
the largest and most respectable in the University,
and I took great pleasure in listening to and par-
ticipating in its debates. Its annual celebration
was held on the 13th of April, and consisted in
the reading of the ''Declaration of Independence,"
preceded by brief introductory remarks, and in the
delivery of an oration. I had the satisfaction of
being elected "reader" for this session — which
was considered one of the honors of college and was
much sought after. I cannot recall what I had to
say on that occasion or even who delivered the ora-
tion. I only know that our friends — according to
immemorial usage — complimented us on the suc-
cess of our respective efforts, and that we were very
proud of being en vue at the time. I am proud
also to say that I had subsequently the honor of
filling its presidential chair, and of delivering its
valedictory oration — but of this I shall speak more
fully hereafter.

After my second session at the^ University I
spent a year at home, engaged nominally in the
study of medicine, but really in regretting the cir-
cumstances which constrained me to adopt it as a
profession.

These circumstances will be made more clear to
your mind after you have read attentively the fol-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 107

lo win 2: substance of a conversation which occurred
between my father and myself at the time.

Father: ^' You did well at the University, Ed-
ward, and I am delighted with your success there.
You have reached an age when you should com-
mence the study of your profession, and after you
have had a holiday and have rested thoroughly, you
must go regularly to work and prepare j^ourself to
help me. All the necessary books are in my library,
and I shall take pleasure in pointing out a course
of study for you. What do you say to it?"

Son: ^'I am ready to begin my professional
studies to-morrow, but I did not know that you
were the possessor of any law books, father, or that
yon could indicate a course of Ugal study."

Father: "What do you mean? Study law!
Why, T have intended that you should be a doctor
froiH the clay you were born. It has been the
dream and purpose of my life to have you assist
and afterward succeed me in my professional "work.
I cannot consent to your becoming a lawyer ; it
Avould break my heart."

Son: " Please don't put it in that way. I love
you too dearly to annoy or displease you. I would
be a blacksmith or anything else if you really de-
sired it and had set your heart on it ; but I must
tell you frankly that I have no taste for medicine,
and that the first wish of my heart is to study law. ' '

Father: " Don't like medicine? What has pre-
judiced you against it?"

Son : "I am prejudiced against it, and I would
rather go into the fields and hoe corn than become
a doctor." ,

Father: ''You amaze me, Edward. What has
prejudiced you against medicine? What are your
reasons for wishing to repudiate it and thereby to
pain me?"

108 A doctor's experiences

Son: "I would not distress you for Mr. John-
stone's fortune. I will be or rather try to be what-
ever you propose — whatever will conduce to your
happiness. Make up your mind to that much.
But let me tell you whv I do not wish to be a doc-
tor."

Father: " Gro on. You have always given me
your fullest confidence."

Son : ■• I do not wish to become a doctor because as
your son I have an opportunity of knowing exactly
what a physician's life is. I have seen you sac-
rifice your comfort, pleasures, health, and every-
thing to your patients — visiting them in the storms
of winter and the heat of summer, when you were
ill, when your family needed your services, and
when every one else was ^taking a rest.' And
with what results? Only these : to be made pre-
maturely old without having accumulated an inde-
pendence ; to liear much talk about gratitude and
to see but little practical manifestation of it ; to be
held responsible for results which in the nature of
things would be inevitable ; to be calumniated by
jealous rivals and betrayed by pretended friends ;
to be worried by the whims, prejudices and conceits
of patients who have been snatched from the jaws
of death by your ready skill and patient nursing,
and to be treated with the basest indifference in re-
turn for hours of anxiety, watchfulness and self-
sacrifice when the danger had passed and the
grave had been robbed of its victim. Do you not
remember your experience with H., every member
of whose family had malignant diphtheria, and
one died during convalescence from over-feeding^
and how they censured and insulted you for not
letting them know from the first that the child
would die? Have you forgotten Mrs. R., who in-
sisted that you should visit her so often at night.

IN THREE CONTINENTS, 109

after her balls, dinners, theaters, parties, etc., and
then permitted your bill to remain unpaid for years,
although she spent a 'mint' annually on dress
and on entertainments? Have you no recollection of
old W.j who declared that you had ^saved him from
the grave,' until he was called upon for a settle-
ment, when he veered round and proclaimed you a
quack, insisted that you had charged for a greater
number of visits than he had received, and finally
attempted to run off without paying you anything?
Now, it is true that yo'u have reared your children
in comfort, and have been able to give each a good
education ; that you are acknowledged to be the
leading physician in this section of the country ;
that yuur credit at the bank is as good as that of
the richest man in the town ; and that if you were
to die to-morrow your patrons would mourn your
loss as a personal calamity and talk of nothing but
your triumphs and virtues ; but, I ask you, is a life
-'worth living' which has in it so many cloudy
days and so few sunshiny ones? Ought a uian with
his eyes open to choose a profession with which
such annoyances and outrages as these are neces-
sarily connected, whatever of honor or glory or
recompense of any kind it may bring? In my
judgment, when a man becomes a doctor he sells
himself to slavery, and that, too, of the most hu-
miliating and painful character. There then re-
main as alternatives the ministry and the law, and
as I do not feel that I am called to the former I am
constrained to choose the latter as a matter of ne-
cessity. Doctor iVIcGuffy told me that I had just
the qualities of mind to make a successful jurist,
and my taste runs strongly in that direction, as
well."

Father : " There is a great deal of truth in what
you say ; the life of a doctor is a hard and thankless

110 A doctor's experiences

one unless he is actuated by higher principles than
those which 'ordinarily influence humanity. A
doctor's only refuge is in the cultivation of a senti-
ment which lifts him above the consequences and
the considerations which you mention^ and makes a
sense of duty at once the source of his inspira-
tions and the measure of his recompense. The
incidents to which you refer were disgraceful
enough, and they furnish sufficient evidence of
the inherent depravity of human nature; but
they have produced no impression upon my
mind beyond a feeling of regret and sorrow iur
their authors. Having done that which I knew to-
be my duty, I have left these ungrateful creatures
to their own devices, and to all the satisfaction
which thev could derive from them. Life is too
short for anything else than the simple performance
of dut}' — for doing that which conscience and
judgment unite in approving — and then in letting-
things take their own course, relying upon God's
justice to bring them right in the end. Calumny
is but the tribute which every honest and success-
ful man has to pay to jealousy and failure, and the
higher he climbs and the stronger he shows him-
self the heavier is the artillery which the vicious-
and the malignant bring to bear upon him. Many
shameful things have been said of me in my time,
but, clothed in the consciousness of rectitude, I
have suffered them to pass as 'the idle wind,' and
have tried to let my daily walk answer and refute
them. With your proud and over-sensitive nature,
my son, you would experience as many annoyances
and disappointments in connection with the practice
of one profession as another — with law equally with
medicine — unless you determined in the premiss
to rise superior to personal consideration and to
live only for the discharge of the trust appertaining

m THREE CONTINENTS. Ill

to your chosen callinoj, without considering whether
the world censures or applauds you. Man is a
selfish and ungrateful animal, and he shows these
qualities to all who are forced into intimate relations
with him, whether medical, legal, ministerial,
or what not. As to growing rich on the practice
of medicine, it is a difficult matter to do so, I ad-
mit, even under the most favorable circumstances.
Gratitude expires with returning health ; the most
honest men shrink from the payment of a doctor's
bill and always believe that they have been over-
charged ; and the physician with but little practice
fears to importune his clients, and the successful
one has not the time to do so. A thousand circum-
stances, in fact, intervene to limit professional in-
comes, as well as to preclude a medical man from
amassing great wealth, and yet a large majority of
the profession make respectable livings, and are able
to supply personal comforts and educational ad-
vantagi;es to their children. It is better, if one has
to work, that he should not be supplied too liberally
with money, as an independence is calculated to
render him more indifferent to the discharge of his
professional duties. Wealth in fact ' handicaps'
the doctor, and comes between him and the best
interests of the sick and suffering. If you should
study law, I know you would make a good lawyer^
because your ambition would prompt you to master
it, as your knowledge of it would necessarily have
to be put to a public test. Indeed, I believe you
would make a great lawyer, for, together with that
immense fund of pride which seems to have been
born in you, you have an acute and logical mind.
But, my dear son^ there are two dangers which
would threaten you throughout your career. Your
sensitiveness would lead you into endless alterca-
tions, and your life might be sacrificed in some un-

112 A doctor's experiences

necessary affair of honor, while your gifts as an
orator would almost certainly carry you into poli-
tics, which, according to my observation, is the most
profitless and demoralizing of occupations. Dr.
McGuflfy, with all his genius^ only took an in-
complete view of the situation when he advised you
to study law upon the ground that your talents
fitted you exclusively for success in that profession.
It is true that any man can be a doctor as doctors
go^ and by carefully ' hugging tlie shore' and fol-
lowing faithfully ^ the chart ' may even prove
more successful in securing patronage than those
who are his superiors in intellect and knowledge ;
but it is equally true that to become a great physi-
cian— a shining and enduring light in the world
of medicine — there is required as much power of
generalization, subtlety of analysis, accuracy in the
application of principles, and readiness in the use
of knowledge as for corresponding success in tlie.
law or in any other calling. Yjur objections, my
son, are not well taken, and they should not out-
weigh the graver reasons which present themselves
for the choice of medicine as your profession. I am
getting old, Edward, and I need your help. You
have only to assist me for a few years and then to
fall heir to the fine business which I have been so
long in building up, not more for myself than for
you — for the son that I have hoped and believed
would follow in my footsteps."

Son: "Your arguments, father, are potent, but
they do not convince my judgment, because my
opinions have been the growth of years of observa-
tion and reflection. I do not wish to be a doctor,
and I do most earnestly desire to study law ; but
after what you have said, I beg you to consider the
matter settled. I will go to work on the 'dry-
bones' whenever you say the word."

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 113

Father: ^'I am delighted to hear yon say that,
my son, and I shall love you all the more for the
sacrifice of inclination which you have made — a
sacrifice which I would not accept if I did not
know it to be for your own best interests. You
have worked hard; go where you please, enjoy
yourself for the summer, and settle down to work
in the autumn."

So the matter was definitely settled and my des-
tiny determined. No words can convey an idea of
the real pain which the conclusion occasioned me.
In a moment the dreams of my whole life were
dashed to the ground, and in their stead a plan
was substituted which I had always regarded with
detestation and abhorrence. With me everything
is steadfast and enduring ; my feelings and pur-
poses are forged of iron. It is a matter almost of
impossibility for the currents of my nature to be
turned from their wonted courses, and I cannot
surrender my opinions even in compliance with
the dictates of better judgments and the exactions
of altered circumstances. Barker, the phrenolo-
gist, whose knowledge of human character amounts
almost to an inspiration, said of me years ago:
^' This is the most obstinate of human beings ; for
him to surrender his purposes is almost an impos-
sibility." I have found his opinion to be abso-
lutely true, and to my sorrow and regret, as no
one knows better than yourself. It has been diffi-
cult for me to yield even to the fiat of the Al-
mighty; while discipline of every kind has seemed
only a form of coercion, against which my spirit
has ever risen in rebellion.

So gloomy and despondent a state of mind was
developed because of this almost enforced abandon-
ment of my long-cherished purpose to study law
that for an entire year my intellect seemed to lose

114 A doctor's experiences

its grasp — to possess neither susceptibility nor te-
nacity— and 1 made such indifferent progress in
the acquirement of medical knowledge that my
father became seriously apprehensive lest I might
never succeed in obtaining a diploma. My heart
consented to the change of plan, but my brain ab-
solutely refused to follow its lead and to respond to>
its suggestions.

Exactly the same thing occurred to the Hon.
Robert H. Smith, one of the most distinguished
lawyers the South has produced. He was born
and reared in Edenton, and on attaining his ma-
jority his friends insisted that he should study
medicine — against his inclinations — and he en-
tered my father's office for that purpose. He came
regularly, pored over his books, and seemed ab-
sorbed in them, but, when questioned in regard to
their contents, he could make no response — he
showed that he knew absolutely nothing about
them. After some months he abandoned the study
of medicine in disgust, went to Alabama, studied
law, and became one of the most noted jurists and
distinguished statesmen in the country.

Finding that 1 made no progress — that after a
year's study I could describe no single bone in the
human body — m}' father sent me to the medical
school connected with the University of Virginia,
but with many apprehensions as to the result of
the experiment.

Upon my arrival there my friends scarcely knew
me. They said that I had grown prematurely old
and had lost all that vivacity of spirit which had
characterized me in other days. I attended lec-
tures faithfully and tried hard to learn, but when-
ever called up for recitation I invariably made an
inglorious failure and came out of the lecture room
utterly despondent and disgusted.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 115'

This went on for about four months, when an
event occurred which had a marked influence upon
my college career and placed me at the head of
my class from that time forward, to the astonish-
ment of those who, forgetting the triumphs of
other sessions, had measured me by the failures of
this one.

The medical class of that year organized a so-
ciety for the purpose of discussing medical subjects
and of having an oration delivered in public at the
end of the session. As I had some talent for talk-
ing, my friends "put me up" as a candidate for
"final orator," as they termed the student who
was to appear in public at commencement. They
considered my election certain, but on the night
appointed to decide the matter my opponents in-
troduced twelve new members, and I was de-
feated by a majority of three votes. This trick
produced so profound a feeling of indignation in
my bosom and among my supporters, that we all
resigned and left the society in the hands of the
hostile party.

Its effect upon me was magical. The principal
argument used in the canvass was that the man
selected to represent the society should be one who
was likely to graduate in medicine and that I stood
no chance of doing so. I therefore determined to
graduate, and to show my adversaries that they had
made a mistake in their calculations ; and I called a
meeting of my friends, thanked them for their sup-
port, and informed them of my determination.
They unanimously advised against the attempt,
urging that it was difficult to graduate in a single
session even if one came well posted and then
studied faithfully for the entire term, whereas
the very opposite v/as true in m}^ case. But their
advice had no effect upon my mind ; for my pride

116 A doctor's experiences

and ambition were excited, and I felt that I had
rather die than fail to make the venture, and to suc-
ceed in it as well. I went immediately to the dean
of the faculty, and asked his consent to become a
candidate, explaining the circumstances under which
the application was made. He informed me that
the rules of the college required a ^' notification to
the faci:{lty in writing early in the session," but
that he would strain a point and make an excep-
tion in my case — so that 1 entered the list as a
candidate for the degree.

For fiye months I studied sixteen hours daily,
thinking only of success, and sacrificing every
other consideration to it ; and I had the satisfac-
tion of coming out victorious in the end — of walk-
ing up on commencement day by the side of my
competitor and I'eceiving the diploma of doctor of
medicine of the University of Virginia. The ap-
plause with which my enthusiastic friends filled
the rotunda on that occasion was deafening; but it
was the sweetest music that had ever reached my
ear, and it amply repaid me for all the long hours
of labor and anxiety which I had devoted to the
task of " getting even '"' with the ^Esculapian So-
ciety.

But my victory did not end with the degree.
The Jefferson Society — the oldest and most honor-
able of the college — having a vacancy to fill, and
appreciating the circumstances of the case, selected
me as its valedictorian for that session. As this
was esteemed the honor of the college, you can
appreciate the kind feeling which prompted those
who sought to advance me, and understand how it
gratified my heart and consummated my triumph.

I wrote my address in a single night — after hav-
ing heard the result of the examination — and
though neither so concise nor coherent as it might

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 117

have been, it was brim full of enthusiasm and my
friends thought it splendid.

Thus it was that disaster was transformed into
triumph, and that a night of darkness and disap-
pointment was succeeded by a morning of sunshine
and rejoicing.

During all this time I had never informed my
father of my purpose, and when I returned home
he w^as perfectly ignorant of what I had under-
taken and accomplished. In response to his in-
quiries, I opened my trunk, and, without a word
of explanation, placed the ''diploma" and the
" programme of the final exercises " in his hands.
In a moment tears of joy were coursing down his
cheeks, and clasping me in his arms, he murmured,
" Thank you, my son," in tones of such tender and
touching pathos as have proved a perennial source
of pride and pleasure to my heart. I thanked
God for my defeat in the ^sculapian Society
since ; but for that disappointment I should have
passed the session in " inglorious ease," and have
burne off no trophies with which to delight the
soul of that great and good old man.

Pari 2^cissu with the study of medicine, there was
developed in me a love for it which has ever since
been a part of my being, growing with each year
of my existence and controlling and directing my
entire life.

The University of Virginia possesses no clinical
advantages, and though thoroughly grounded in
the principles of medicine, I was profoundly igno-
rant of disease save as it was described in the text
books.

Hence it was that I concluded to visit Philadel-
phia during the coming winter, and sought in the
mean time to acquaint myself with the practical de-
tails of medicine at home.

118 A DOCTORS EXPERIENCES

My father owned a negro man nanaed William,
who had been raised in his office and to whom I
am indebted for much assistance in the outset of
my career. Possessing great natural intelligence,
and having taught himself to read and write, he
managed to acquire a considerable knowledge of
medicine, while as a cupper, leecher, and tooth-
extracter he was unusually skillful. At the same
time, he was the most pompous of darkeys, and with
his bald head, his erect carriao:e. his lono' black
coat, his faultless collar, and his redundance of
technical terms, he was the very type of the old-
tashioned "country doctor." He prided himself
on being ''a gentleman of qualit}^," and in suavity
of manner, scrupulous politeness, and freedom from
guile he was the equal of any man who claimed
that title. And yet, to his superiors, he was al-
ways the most humble, respectful and obedient of
servants, never forgetting his place nor neglecting
any duty which his lot in life imposed. His am-
bition did not confine itself to the •' shop," but as-
pired to the ''pulpit," as well. He preached or
prayed in the meeting-house every Sunday, and he
occupied all the leisure at his command during the
week in preparing the "exhortation" or "petition
to the throne" as he designated his ministerial ef-
forts. This preparation consisted in culling from
Webster's dictionary and the medical works in
my father's library the longest and most strictly
technical words that he could find, which, when
the momentous occasion arrived, he distributed
through his discourse without regard to the perti-
nency or to the comprehension of his auditors.
Despite this indulgence in "high dicto" — the
negro's term for language which is beyond ordi-
nary comprehension — his discourses abounded in
much hard sense and true religious fervor, while

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 119

tliev were delivered with an unction which would
have done credit to any bishop in the land. At
any rate, whether his high-flown terms were un-
derstood or not, his efforts were accepted by ^' the
-congregation" as masterpieces of eloquence^ and
neither Bossuet nor Fenelon ever received an in-
finitesimal part of the homage which was lavished
upon him. Notwithstanding his pomposity and
the superabundant supply of vanity with which
nature had endowed him, no kinder or truer heart
than his ever beat in a human bosom. He loved
those to whom he belonged with a fervor and with
Sj steadfastness which stood the test of every pos'si-
ble trial and temptation. When "escape from
bondage" was the watchword of his race, and free-
dom was easily in his reach, he remained quietly
-at his post, as humble and as faithful as if no
" proclamation " existed. When liberty was posi-
tively forced upon him, he sought no employment
aw\ay from home until urged to do so in his own
interest, and he brought the first fruits of his labor
and proposed to devote them to the support of those
whom he loved so well. And ever since, whenever
the occasion has offered, he has never failed to
manifest the most profound respect and the tender-
est affection for his "old master and mistress," as
he still delights to call them.

In view of these facts, and of many others of a
kindred nature, it is impossible for me to take into
consideration the color of his skin or the quality of
his blood, and I can only feel toward him as a
friend and brother — as one to whom the best affec-
tions of my heart are due, and with whom I would
gladly share my last crust and my bottom dollar.

It is a little singular that another man of the
same name, race and character should have been
linked with my destiny for nearly twenty years in

120 A doctor's experiences

the capacity of a servant, but really in the relation
of a friend, and a most devoted and faithful one, as
you know full well. Of him, however, I shall speak
more fully io another portion of this narrative.

I cannot refrain from saying in this connection
that I pride myself on being a friend of the negroes;
for, in my judgment, they possess some excellent
traits of character and compare favorably in many
important respects with their more pretentious
brothers. The conduct of the slaves of the South
— and I speak from my own observation and ex-
perience— during the war between the sections,
was admirable beyond precedent or parallel.

While a conflict was waging which was to decide
the question of their emancipation or the perpetu-
ation of their bondage, they remained apparently
disinterested spectators of the scene, laboring with
their wonted fidelity, and protecting the wives and
children of their masters, who were really fight-
ing against their most essential interests. Greater
docility, devotion to duty, and disregard of selfish
considerations were never chronicled before in the
history of humanity. Their conduct in this con-
nection teaches, however, one significant lesson
which it is important to remember: it shows that
notwithstanding the evils which necessarily asso-
ciated themselves with the '^ peculiar institution,"
the relations between their masters and themselves
were not illustrated by acts of cruelty on the one
side and by a spirit of vindictiveness on the other
as so much ink has been consumed in the attempt ta
demonstrate.

The abolition of slavery is not to be regretted,
even by those who lost so heavily in the premises.
Previous to the war the negroes of the South were
certainly better fed, clothed, and cared for than
the laborers of any^other country under the sun,

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 121

and their masters were, consequently, subjected to
a heavier expense, and were more fettered by re-
sponsibilities and obligations than their employers
have been since or can possibly be again. In those
days labor consumed nearly all that it produced,
leaving but a small margin tor the luxuries of
liie and adding nothing to capital save in the mul-
tiplication of itself — in the augmented value of
slave property from the natural law of increase.
Under the present order of things the agricultur-
ists of the South — those who formerly owned slaves
— gain in two ways, viz., by the greater amount of
work done in a given time, and by the smaller
amount of money, expended upon labor ; for the
young, the old, and the infirm have now to shift
for themselves without being a tax upon their mas-
ters, as they were in other days.

Since the war their conduct has on the whole
been good, the only exception being in such in-
stances as they have been influenced by bad ad-
visers. They certainly have shown that they have
had no special wrongs to redress, as would have been
the case had the stories told in " Uncle Tom's
Cabin " and similar romances been anything else
than pure inventions^ concocted for party purposes.
Indeed, the legislation of the country, influenced
as it has been by the abolitionists exclusively, in
immediately investing the freedmen with the fran-
chise, furnishes a complete answer to the charges
of cruelty and inhumanity which have been
made against their former masters ; for had the
negroes been the degraded creatures which such a
system would necessarily have rendered them,
their elevation to the prerogatives of citizenship
would have inevitably proved a disaster to the Re-
public— depending as it does for its very existence
upon the intelligence and virtue of its citizens.

122 A doctor's experiences

That they are naturally kind and sympathetic
when left to themselves, I know from my own ex-
perience.

When I returned to Edenton after the surrender,
rained in fortune, shattered in health, and scarce
knowing where to turn for refuge, the friends who
rallied around me were the negroes, to whom, in
more j^^osperous times, my professional services
had been rendered. While others, who were under
every possible obligation on that account, seemed
to forget my existence or arrayed themselves with
my enemies, these poor creatures overwhelmed me
with expressions of sympathy and proofs of friend-
ship.

Theirs was not that species of gratitude which
quickens under the stimulus of anticipated favors,
for I was penniless and powerless in those dreary
days, and their kindness to me and mine were
naught else than the natural outflowings of real
humanity — a spontaneous tribute from that gen-
uine loyalty which the God of nature has planted in
their bosoms.

My first patient was an old negro by the name
of Harry Jones, who came to the office suffering
from an aching tooth, and praying for its extraction
— for there were no dentists in those parts at the
time, and physicians were compelled to act as their
substitutes so far as minor operations were con-
cerned. Unfortunately, my education had been
neglected in that particular, and I should have
been less embarrassed had the operation been an
amputation.

I was therefore only too happy to fall back upon
the advice and assistance of William, the negro
man to whom I have already referred. While
pretending to examine the tooth, he yery quietly
directed me how to apply and manipulate the in-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 123

strument, and I then went to work in accordance,
and, as I thought, with the instructions which he
had given me. In response to a powerful wrench
out flew hoo teeth upon the floor — the one wliich I
had proposed to extract and its nearest neighbor.
Overwhelmed with confusion at this unexpected
result^ I was seeking to frame some excuse for my
awkwardness, when old Harry exclaimed, as he
gathered up the teeth and thrust them into his
pocket: ''Thank de Lord ! you've got um bofe at
a pop. How in de gracious, boss, did you know
dat , sometimes one ake as bad as de toder? Bofe
out at a clip ! did you ever hearn of the like. Hur-
rah for Mars Edurd!"

"That is a new style of tooth pulling, old man,"
said I, taking the cue, "and it was never per-
formed before in this country."

" Those masticators won't disturb you in the
hereafter," chimed in my good friend William ;
^' and you ought to be mighty grateful for getting
them both eradicated at one evolution of the cor-
pus. My young master's got real gumption, and
he don't take two bites at a cherry, nor at a
tooth either, Uncle Harry."

The old fellow gathered himself up and went on
his way rejoicing ; and telling the story far and
wide of my wonderful " gumption" and dexterity,
I suddenly found myself famed throughout that
part of the country as a tooth -puller. Thus it is
that "great streams from little fountains flow"
and that a man often reaps more than he sows or
counts upon, both of good and of evil.

My reputation as an oculist soon became as great
as my fame as a dentist, and on grounds hardly
more substantial.

A young woman named. Betsey Miller, who re-
sided in " Cowpen-neck" and had the reputation

124 A doctor's experiences

of possessing the longest tongue in the county,
came to me for the treatment of her eyes. She was
suffering from ophthalmia, and had been treated by
a numt)er of physicians who had failed to cure her
— doubtless because they became weary of her
^'jaw," and gave up the case. Having succeeded
in curing her, for the reason that, as a beginner, I
took more pains to succeed, she asked William one
day to tell her exactly what I had done, so that
she might be prepared for any other attack. As
with all his fantastic ways he had plenty of fun in
him, he replied, •' Well, Mistress Miller, it's
against the rules of our profession to discourse on
such scientific matters with outsiders, but I will
make a deception with you. Master Edward, you
see, is a great ocuologist, and he can do strange
and multitudinous things in visual surgery, so he
just slipped your eyes out of their sockets, washed
them with a pharmaceutical lotion, and returned
them to their normal position, sound and well. It
is a wonderful recuperation that he has made, Mis-
tress Miller, and you ought to be mighty gratui-
tous for it, I can tell you."

"Took them out of their sockets?" cried Miss
Betsey, opening her eyes wider than they had ever
been before with amazement and credulity ; ''bless
my life, it is wonderful! And that is why he
bandaged one while he worked on the other — to
keep rne from seeing what he was about. Are you
sure he has put them back straight, Uncle Will-
iam? Please to. take a good look and tell me the
the gospel truth."

"Straight as a die, and sound as a dollar, Mis-
tress Miller," answered William, chuckling to
himself over the way in which he had taken her in.

" Don't listen to William's yarns. Miss Betsey.
He is only romancing a little," I put in at once.

IN THREE CONTmENTS. 125

^'Wbat is romancing?" asked the young woman.

"Speaking the truth, the whole truth, and noth-
ing but the truth," answered William, with the
gravity of a judge, which so convulsed me with
laughter that I could not explain matters before
she bad vanished.

" What did you tell her that whopper for, Will-
iam," I inquired, when we were alone.

" Only for a little fun, young master," answered
William. " We medical men must have some di-
version. Without a little joke now and then the
profession would die of the blues. She will find
out soon enough that I have humbugged her, and
will return to have it out wnth me. Don't worry
3^ourself about that innocent little fib of mine, for
you will never hear any more of it after she has
jawed me for stuffing her like I would any other
goose."

But I did hear "more about it." In less than a
month's time it was known and believed through-
out the county that the "young doctor" had
cured Betsey Miller by "taking her eyes out of
their sockets, washing them, and putting them back
again;" and such is the tradition there to this
day. It was in vain that I contradicted the story.
She was believed, andj as a natural consequence,
every man, woman and child for many miles around
-who had any disease of the eyes flocked to my of-
fice to be cured a la Betsey Miller.

126 A doctor's experiences

LETTER VIII.

A WINTER IX PHILADELPHIA.

My Dear Doctor :

In the month of October, 1850, I went to Phil-
adelphia to complete my studies, making a detour^
as I have previously explained. My father gradu-
ated in the University of Pennsylvania, but alter
due consideration I matriculated at the Jefferson
Medical College, and I have never had reason to re-
gret the choice. Dr. Miitter was certainly one of
the most eloquent and instructive lecturers, and
Dr. Pancoast one of the best operators, that this
country has produced, while their colleagues gen-
erally were men of ability and learning.

Being- anxious to see as much of practical medi-
cine as possible, I made arrangements with one of
the city physicians to take the poor of his ward
under my professional charge, and it so happened
that Professor Bache lectured on chemistry at the
precise hours which I devoted to this work. As
he w^as not an interesting teacher, though a profi-
cient in his specialty, the number of students who
had the patience to listen to him was small, so in-
considerable, in fact, that he soon learned to dis-
tinguish each one of them and to address him by
name.

When the time for my examination on chemistry
arrived I did not enter his sanctum with the
bravest of hearts, because I felt assured that he
would know that I was not of the faithful few who

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 127

had suffered martyrdom to please him and to se-
cure his vote.

" Take a seat," he said rather gruffly. " Your
name is Warren, I see, but I have no recollection
of having ever met you before to-night. Have
you attended my lectures ?"

" Some of them," I answered meekly.

"How many, sir?" demanded the old man
sternly.

" Three or four," was my reply.

" Three or four, indeed ! And do you expect to
get my vote after confessing to such negligence?"

"I expect to get -your vote if I answer your
questions, professor. I am not here as a beggar,
sir," I answered, a little frightened, but very much
nettled.

" Oh ! You think you know^ enough of chem-
istry without my instruction, do you? Well, we
shall see," said the doctor, evidently piqued and'
angry.

" I think I know enough of chemistry to entitle
me to the diploma of this college," I answered.

" Well, sir, I will determine that question for
myself," said the old man.

He then went to w^ork, and for an hour plied me
with questions of every possible kind, embracing
the most difficult he could think of; but, fortun-
ately, my thorough training at the University of
Virginia served me well, and I went through the
ordeal without a balk or a mistake. This seemed
to make him furious, and he finally roared out :

" What is vitriolated tartar, sir ?"

" A substance unknown to modern chemistry, at
least by the name you give it," said I, very de-
cidedly. " Professor Rogers, of the University of
Virginia"

■" Professor Rogers ! " he exclaimed. '' And you

128 A doctor's experiences

are a University of Virginia man? Why did you
not say that before, and save me all this trouble?"

''I am a ^graduate, sir, of that institution, and
I took distinctions in chemistry besides."

" All right. I will vote for you with pleasure,
as I should have done without asking you a ques-
tion had you told me where you came from."

'^ But, professor, what about vitriolated tartar ?"

'* Oh ! An obsolete term for sulphate of potash ;
and I only wanted to take the conceit out of you
by asking a question that you could not answer."

After this exhibition of amiability on his part, I
explained the circumstances which had compelled
me to forego the pleasure (?) of attending his lec-
tures, and we parted the best of friends. I have
no doubt this question has '' taken the conceit " out
of many a poor fellow who had " cut " the doctor's
lectures and had not Prof. Kogers' training to fall
back upon. Professors are much too prone to re-
sort to "catch questions" in order to embarrass
students and to secure a paltry triumph for them-
selves, without remembering that they may thus
disconcert and wrong the most deserving. I have
repeatedly occupied chairs in medical colleges, and
I have made it an invariable rule to give each candi-
date a square and fair examination, taking special
pains, at the same time, to relieve him from all
embarrassment, and to encourage that condition of
mental composure in which the intellect works
with its wonted ease and accuracy.

I boarded that winter in a very select house kept
by two maiden ladies who had seen better days and
were connected with some of the best people in
Philadelphia. The society of their establishment
was elegant, and I made the acquaintance of many
charming people there. Only five medical students
succeeded in gaining admittance, and they were

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 129

received as a particular favor, and on special recom-
mendations.

Medical students were reo;arded in those days as
most uncouth and uncivilized specimens of hu-
manity, and they were popularly rated and reviled
as Southerners, and especially as Virginians.
Whenever a disturbance occurred, the " students "
were held responsible and they were generally
treated as if they were convicts or outlaws — as
the representatives of an inferior race and civiliza-
tion. The result was a perpetual state of warfare
between the Philadelphians and those who had
oome among them to engage in the stuiy of medi-
cine, with the development of reciprocal senti-
ments of aversion, which bore bitter fruits for both
parties.

I am convinced that the germs of antagonism
thus sown among the physicians of the South gradu-
ally infected their entire section, and became im-
portant elements in the production of that condition
of things which culminated in one of the bloodiest
wars of modern times.

Among the results of this controversy may also
be classed the fact that, though the medical schools
of Philadelphia are inferior to none in the country,
'the tide of Southern patronage now flows silently
by them and pours itself into the lap of New
York, a city which has ever been distinguished for
the liberality and catholicity of its sentiments.

My chum was George Wilkins, of Northampton
County, Ya., with whom I had become well ac-
quainted at the University of Yirginia, and of
whom I can emphatically say that a better man
never entered the ranks of the profession. Pos-
sessed of ample means, he has not engaged actively
in the practice of medicine, but he has never failed
to command the respect of the community in which

130 A doctor's experiences

he lives, and especially of tliose who know him in-
timately. We have l)een friends for more than
thirty years, and we shall continue such to the end,
which cannot be very distant from either of us.

Among my student friends there was a young man
from Virginia, who really belonged to one of the
" first families" of that State, and who was dis-
tinguished not less for his brilliant intellect than,
lor his vivacity and light-heartedness. He was, m
fact, one of those bright, jovial, irrepressible,
whole-souled men who seem born alone for sun-
shine and happiness. His joyous laughter, his
sna-tches of merry song and his sparkling jests
ring ever through my memory like some sweet re-
frain from the shores of the past. Besides, he was
the handsomest fellow in his clas^. Tall and
graceful in person, his oval forehead shaded with
chestnut curls, his bright eyes reflecting the deep-
est blue of the skies, and with a nose and mouth
unsurpassed in symmetry by any creation of classic
art, he seemed almost feminine in his personal at-
tractions. After a brilliant examination he gradu-
ated in medicine and turned his face homeward ^
followed by the best wishes of the entire class, and
seemingly with the most brilliant future before him.

For more than twelve years I never saw or heard
of him, and I supposed that his life had fulfilled
its promise ; that he had reaped as rich a harvest
of the world's blessings and honors as he had ex-
pected and deserved.

But I was woefully mistaken. One night dur-
ing the war I was in Richmond, and had retired
to rest in the old Spottswood Hotel, when there
was a^ rap at my door, and a man entered, who
greeted me with a cordial shake of the hand, and
the familiar salutation: '"How goes it, Ned?'^
" You have the advantage of me, sir/' said I, as I

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 131

recoo:aized neither the voice nor the face of mv
visitor. " Don't know me ? I am your old friend,

Bob H ; I certainly, then, must have altered

very much," said he.

" You Bob H ?" I exclaimed. '^ I remem-
ber him perfectly, and you have neither his face,
figure nor voice. You are no more like him than
I am. Such a change could not take place in a
human being." All this time I stood with my
hand upon the open door, neither offering him a
seat nor showing him the slightest courtesy, be-
cause I believed him to be some '^ dead beat " who
was trying to take me in.

'^Ned Warren," he said, as the tears rolled
down his cheeks, "Is this the reception you give
an old friend after so many years of separation ?
And I had such a favor to ask of you, thinking I
should find you what you were in other days.
Well, it's all up with me, and I won't intrude any
longer."

" Convince me that you are the man you claim
to be, and there is nothing I will not do for you.

If you are Bob H , tell me where we boarded

in Philadelphia and about the people we knew
there."

In a moment he went over the incidents of our
student life and removed every doubt from my
mind as to his identity.

'• A thousand pardons, old fellow," I exclaimed,
embracing him warmly. ''I am delighted to see
you again. But what have you been doing with
yourself to make such a complete transformation
possible? Your own mother would not know you.
Bob, for everything about you^ even the color of
3^our hair and the tones of your voice, have totally
changed. Take a seat and tell me all about your-
self."

132 A doctor's experiences

'' Ah J Ned," said lie^ as he sank into a chair and
"threw his tattered hat upon the sofa, '' I have had
•a hard time since we parted ; life seemed all sun-
shine then, but it turned out to be only clouds and
-darkness ; practice did not come so rapidly as I ex-
pected ; my money ran low ; disappointments of all
kinds pursued me ; and I sought consolation and
oblivion in drink, which only made matters worse.
I lived the life of an obscure 'country doctor/
just managing to exist, until the war broke out,
wlien I ' went in ' as a private, and have re-
mained in the ranks up to the present moment.
When nearly dead from the combined eifects of
wounds, privation and exposure, I applied for per-
mission to be examined for the position of assistant
surgeon. After waiting for six months in a state
of mind bordering on desperation, a favorable
answer reached me on yesterday, and I have been
given two days' leave so that I may appear before
the board of examination, of which you are a mem-
ber. I am to be examined to-morrow morning at
ten o'clock, and as I have never been a student
since my graduation, and have not had a medical
book in my hands for two years, my rejection is
almost a matter of certainty, which means that I
shall have to return to camp either to be speedily
killed or to die like a dog, for my health is utterly
shattered. Having heard by the merest accident
of your presence here and of your connection with
the board, I hurried to your hotel to beg of you for
God's sake to help me — to save me."

''The case is, indeed, a grave one, Bob. Un-
fortunately, I am not a member of the Richmond
board, but of another in North Carolina. The ex-
amination will surely be a rigid one, and you must
not think of standing it until you have had time
to prepare yourself. I know the secretary of war

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 135

intimatelyj and I will see him to-morrow, state
your case, and get you a leave of absence for a
month so that you can post yourself."

" Unluckily, you can't do that before ten o'clock
to-morrow, and at that precise hour I am compelled
to appear before the board. Stand the examination
I must, and take the chances, though they are a
thousand to one against me. How I should like to
succeed !"

''Then I will try the next best thiug. The
clock has just struck two and we have eight hours
to work in. I propose to devote the entire time to
cramming you for the examination. Having served
on boards of examination I know the ground which
your examiners are likely to take you over, and,
although there may be a constructive breach of
faith in it, I intend to prepare you as far as possi-
ble for the questions that they will probably ask
you ; and I am sure that both the Good Lord and
Jeff Davis will forgive me for thus trying to help
an old friend in distress. What do you say to my
proposition ?"

" It's a desperate chance, Ned, but a drowning
man can't afford to quarrel with the rope that is
thrown to him. I will try to take in what you tell
me, but I am as dull as a land terrapin and as
rusty as a discarded stovepipe. I know the Lord
will pardon and reward you for your kindness."

So I stirred up the fire and went to work to pre-
pare the poor fellow for the ordeal through which
he had to pass. I found the task a difficult one, I
can assure 3'ou, for he seemed not only to have for-
gotten all that he had ever known, but to have
lost the faculty of acquiring knowledge. I made
it a point, naturally, to post him on gun-shot
wounds, taking my departure from the wounds which
he had received, and charging him at the same time

134 A doctor's experiences

to bring them adroitly to the front, so as to lead
the examiners upon ground with which he was
comparatively familiar.

Finally the hour approached, and under the
stimulus of the breakfast which I ordered in my
room, he became a little more hopeful, and began
to ''spruce himself up," asking me to lend him
one of my old ''citizen coats" so that he might
"present a more decent appearance" before the
board. " By no means," said I ; " don't think of
appearing in anything but jouv ragged uniform.
Enter the room as if you had just tramped in from
camp, and then make some pleasant remark to this
effect : I hope you will excuse my appearance,
gentlemen, as this costume is the best that my
wardrobe can afford, and my rustiness as well, for
a man who has been for two years practicing the
art of killing his fellow beings must necessarily
have lost much of his skill in curing them. At
the same time, avoid all discussion ivith the mem-
bers of the board, and be sure to provoke a discus-
sion amo7ig them if you can. Don't forget to bring
your own wounds conspicuously forward, and trust
to the Lord for the rest."

I was too much interested to remain at home,
and for an hour I paced the street in front of the
building in which the board held its sessions,
anxiously awaiting the appearance of my friend.
Finally he came out, looking ten years younger,
his face radiant with smiles and tears of joy stream-
ing down his cheeks. Throwing himself into my
arms he sobbed out: "You have saved me! I
have passed ! I have passed ! They told me so
before I left the room."

" Well, I do most heartily congratulate you.
But tell me all about it. How did you manage to
get along so well?"

IN THREE CONTmENTS. 135

a

Oh ! I had the best luck imaginable. The
moment they saw my ragged uniform and my
generally dilapidated appearance they seemed
kindly disposed toward me. They fell into the
trap beautifully which I baited with my own
wounds, and having asked a few questions concern-
ing them and wounds generally they got into a
discussion among themselves in regard to the
cold-water treatment, which they kept up until the
time allotted to my examination had expired.
When they made this discovery they apologized
for their neglect (?) — for which^ God knows, I for-
gave them — conferred together a little, congratu-
lated me upon my surgical knowledge, and then
informed me that they would vote for me with
pleasure. So you see I am no longer a ' high pri-
vate,' but an 'assistant surgeon,' P. A. C. S. I
can never repay you, Warren, if I live a thousand
years or get to be surgeon-general."

" Don't talk, about that part of it, Bob. You
would have done as much for me. I am as proud
of your success as you are. Come and dine with
me at six sharp, and we will talk the matter over.
Good morning, don't forget the hour for dinner."'

Having been detained a long time at the surgeon-
general's office, I did not regain my hotel until
lialf-past six P. M. To my astonishment, my
friend was not awaiting me either in the hall or in
the parlor, nor could he be ibund though I searched
■everywhere, especially in the soldiers' most certain
retreat, the '^ sample room." I then went up to my
room to prepare for dinner, and to my astonishment
found the door unlocked, but barred on the inside
by some obstruction. Calling for assistance, I
pushed it open with difficulty, and found upon the
floor the prostrate form of my guest I left him
where he had fallen in his intoxication, ate my

136 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

dinner alone and passed the night in an adjoining
chamber — to find him on the following morning
sleeping as quietly in my bed and as much at home
as it" he were in his own tent upon the banks of the
Rapid an.

"Hallo!" cried I, giving him a hearty shake,
"the reveille has beaten, and it is time to turn
out."

" The devil you say," cried he, springing from
the bed and rushing toward the door, apparently
in great alarm.

" Hold on. Bob ! Where are yon going, and what
are you about?" cried I, catching him by the
shoulder and forcing him into a seat.

" Why, Ned, is this you? I thought I was in
camp," he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes and giving
a terrific yawn ; " but now I remember that I am
to dine with you. Is it time for dinner ?"

"Yes, and breakfast-time in the bargain. I
found you here last night, dead drunk, and you
have slept for twelve hours on a stretch."

"Oh, yes, yes, I remember all about it now —
but you see, old fellow, I was bound to ' celebrate
the clav' havino; 'curled' the board so beautifullv."

" By getting drunk ?"

" Yes, of course, but I got drunk like a gentle-
man. It was none of your rot-gut or new-dip that
did the business for me, but genuine champagne.
It is true it took every cent of the three months'
pay which I had earned with my blood, but I wa&
determinecl to do my celebrating respectably, and
I did it. You know that I had to support the
dignity of an officer and to drink your health at
the same time."

" I don't see anything gentlemanly or respectable
in trettino; drunk, nor do I wish my health drunk
in champagne or anything else if your last cent has

, IN THREE CONTINENTS. 13T

to be spent in buying it and you end by making a
brute of yourself besides."

" When did you join the temperance society?
Have you forgotten the sundry ^ whisky toddies'
we consumed together in old times ?"

'^I am no temperance man, Bob, but simply a
temperate one. If I had, however, the slightest
weakness for liquor I would take the pledge to-day,
and keep it for the rest of my life. I have not for-
gotten the good times we had together when we
were younger, but I would not drink with you
again, now that I know your failing, for my right
hand. I do not wish to encourage you to do that
toward which it is evident you are already too
much inclined — to get drunk and ruin yourself. I
wish that alcohol had never been discovered or
could be abolished toto coelo."

"You are hard on me, Ned Warren. I have
only 'celebrated' my good luck of yesterday by
drinking a bottle of champagne like a gentleman ;
and if I did get tight on it many a better man than
you or I has done the same. I am surprised at
your wish to abolish alcohol, considering its value
as a medicine and in view of the lives saved by it
daily."

"I hard on you? No, Bob, it is you who are
hard upon yourself. I must speak plainly, because I
am really a friend and want to serve you. When
1 first knew you, you were one of the handsomest
and happiest fellows in the world. All the girls
loved you ; you were the pet of your class ; you
were the hope of your family, and you were the
pride of the community in which you lived. Few
men were ever more blessed with talents and pros-
pects than you, twelve years ago. What are you
to-day? By your own confession, you are a dead
failure and a complete wreck — blighted physically,

138 A doctor's experiexces

mentally and morally ; you have thrown away your
chance in life ; you have disappointed your com-
rades, mortified your family, and disgusted the
community in which you were reared ; your for-
tune has heen dissipated, and you have just spent
your ' last copper ; ' your ' troops ' of friends
have dwindled down to one solitary college-mate ;
and you who ought to be a professor are simply an
assistant surgeon in embryo, having scraped
through by the very skin of your teeth. Now,
what has brought about all this ? What is the rock
upon which your life has been wrecked ? You
know it is drink — nothino; more and nothino; less.
It is alcohol in some form or other that has thus
transformed, demoralized, and destroyed 3'ou.
Let me ask you, then, is it I who am hard upon
3^ou in simply telling you the truth about this ter-
rible vice of yours, or is it you who are hard upon
yourself for indulging it? Talk about 'celebrat-
ing your victory with champagne,' as if the
quality of the wine helped the character of the act !
You had better celebrate it with a dose of arsenic
and put an end to your life at once than to con-
tinue it in drunkenness and disgrace. Talk about
'getting drunk like a gentleman,' as if there were
any way of doing a disgraceful thing which can
transform it into a virtue, and add to the respect-
ability of its perpetrator 1 I admit that alcohol has
its value as a medicine — that good results attend
its judicious administration — but of this I am cer-
tain : for every pang it relieves there are a myriad
of pains which it produces ; for each life it prolongs
there are an infinitude of lives which it destroys,
while the benefits it secures as compared with the
evils which it entails are as a pebble to the Pyra-
mids, as a stream from a spigot to the falls of
Niagara. Taking all things into account, and

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 139

multiplying its therapeutical value ten thousand
fold, I am convinced that the world would gain
largely by its annihilation — if all there is of it,
whatever its name or guise, could be poured into
the sea, and its future production prohibited."

" My God, Warren, stop ! What you say pen-
etrates to the core. It makes me think — a thing
that I have not done for ten years."

" You ought to have commenced to think before ;
it is too late for that now. Suppose you began,
even at this late day, to act. You say that I have
done you a service — have saved your life and res-
cued you from a whole catalogue of evils, and you
talk about seeking the occasion to give a proof of
your gratitude. That occasion is before you ; grant
me a favor, and make us ^ quits.'"

^'I am at your service. What possible favor can
you have to ask of me?"

"It is a favor to me, but a still greater service
to yourself. Give me your word of honor that you
will never drink again."

'^ What is the use? I have sworn off a thou-
sand times and have fallen from grace as often.
There always occurs something I feel bound to
^ celebrate,' and I find that the pledge is not
worth 'a continental.' I have not the moral
force to resist temptation. I only wish I had."

" Make one more effort for my sake and your
own. Think of the good luck you have had in
your examination, and try to retain the commis-
sion which you are about to receive. The sur-
geon-general told me only yesterday that he was
almost afraid to issue it on account of your bad
habits, and that he should keep his eye on you."

'•My God, lose my commission? I had not
thought of that. I had rather die than suffer sucK
a calamity."

140 A doctor's experiences

'^ It is entirely with you to invite or to prevent
it. Pledge me yonr word that you will give up
drinking altogether, and then try honestly to keep
it — always bearing in mind that to break it means
a place in the ranks and a drunkard's grave."

'^YeSj and I will do my level best to keep it.
All ' celebrations ' may go to the devil,"

"Are you in earnest?"

" Yes, in dead earnest."

''Then repeat after me, slowly and distinctly :
' I solemnly promise, on my honor as a man and
as an officer, that from this time forward I will not
take, even if prescribed by a physician, one drop of
alcoholic stimulant, including whisky, brandy,
gin, wines of all kinds, and malt liquors, so long
as I live, so help me, God/"

He repeated every word with emphasis, and
added: ''Candidly, Ned, I have no faith in my
honor as a man, but perhaps my honor as an offi-
cer, backed up by the dread of losing my commis-
sion, may hold water. At any rate I will do my
best not to disappoint you. Good-bye, my dear
friend. I shall never forget this visit to Rich-
mond, and the most pleasant recollections of my life
will have you as their head-center. Thank God,
there is no liquor in camp, and I can't ' celebrate'
with the boys if I wanted to."

I have never met my friend and proselyte since,
and I am unable to say whether he kept his word
or not. I only know that he did not lose his com-
mission during the war, and that he surrendered
with General Lee at Appomattox.

I have gone into the details of this incident be-
cause it serves to show alike the fascination and
the evils of drunkenness, and the difficulties which
frequently surround the question of identity.

After an intei val of only twelve years I meet one

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 141

with wliom I had lived in the most intimate rela-
tions for months and of whom a distinct picture
remains in my memory, and yet I absolutely fail
to recognize him on account of the complete trans-
formation which has taken place in him, physi-
cally^ mentall}^ and morally.

I recollect, also^ having seen the Prince of Wales
when he visited America, and of finding him twenty
y^ears afterward so completely changed from the
cadaverous, gaunt and awkward boy that he then
was as almost to stagger me in regard to his iden-
tity.

I am quite sure that the differences in physical
traits and intellectual qualities which were proved
to exist between the youth, Roger Tichborne, and
the matured man, "the claimant," were not more
radical than those which could be established in
the case of my friend and that of the Prince of
Wales.

Although the claimant resorted to the most des-
picable means to prove his case, I have always be-
lieved him to be the veritable heir, and such I
know to be the opinion of many intelligent and
disinterested men in England and out of it. He
deserved to be punished for his perjury and his at-,
tempt at subornation, but not upon the evidence of
non-identity, which was mainly relied upon by the
Crown.

I have met with persons who had forgotten their
native tongue and were unable to make their wants
known in it, while to forget a foreign language is
<i matter of daily occurrence. I have even seen
Americans who, after a very brief sojourn abroad,
had become so thoroughly denationalized as scarcely
to be able to recall their vernacular, so distorting
it with alien idioms and foreign accentuations that
the mothers who taught them to speak could

142 A doctor's experiences

scarcely understand what they were driving at even
with the help of a dictionary and an interpreter.

I am reminded here of a singular circumstance
which has occurred in my own family. When my
youngest daughter arrived in France she spoke
only Arabic, but having acquired French she has-
entirely forgotten the former language save when
asleep. Night after night I hear her talking Arabic
in her dreams, using words which she can neither
recall nor understand when awake.

During my residence in Philadelphia, in the
latter part of 1850, the idea of using morphia hypo-
dermically for the relief of pain occurred to my
mind as an original conception. Taking the hint
from its action upon a blistered and denuded surface,
I concluded that it would act more promptly and
efficiently if introduced under the skin, without
being attended with greater danger. Filled with
the idea I discussed it with my fellow students, and
actually prepared a thesis for graduation recom-
mending this method of treatment, and proposing
to puncture with a lancet and then to introduce
morphia in solution by means of Anel's syringe.
Happening to meet one of the professors, I told
him my plan of medication and attempted to discuss-
it with him, but he took so discouraging a view of
the subject — dwelling especially on the difficulty of
limiting the effects of a narcotic thus introduced
into the circulation — that I went home, and in a.
state of despondency destroyed my thesis^ and
presented another on scarlatination, or, in other
words, the prevention of scarlet fever by repeated
inoculations — the identical process which Pasteur
has recently adopted in regard to rabies and others
are proposing for cholera and yellow fever. Soon
after my graduation I put my idea to a practical
test by introducing the sixth of a grain of morphia

IS THREE CONTINENTS. 143

under the skin of a patient suffering with a violent
rheumatic pain of the forearm, with the result of
giving immediate relief^ and without the induction
of an unfavorable symptom.

Although I do not pretend to be the inventor of
the hypodermic syringe, I do claim to be the dis-
coverer of hypodermic medication. This may seem
a bold position, but I am prepared to show by incon-
trovertible evidence that I conceived of hypodermic
medication, ivrote on the subject, and practiced, it
several years in advance of any other person.^

I have already related the circumstances under
which I left Philadelphia without waiting to secure
my diploma. This document, however, was taken
possession of by a friend, and it hangs in my office
to-day, having escaped the accidents of the war — a
memento of past labors, and a reminder of human
mortality, for every man whose name is attached
to it Vias long since paid the debt of nature and
gone to his rest.

My eldest surviving sister, Jane, married, in the
spring of 1853, Major Stephen T. Peters, of Virginia,
a ripe scholar and a most charming man, and as

^Apropos of this subject, I reproduce the subjoined letter
from Dr. George F. Wilkins, of Northampton County, Vir-
ginia, which settles the question of priority as to the discovery
of hypodermic medication :

"Eastville, Va., May 30, 1885. _
" My Dear Doctor: In reference to your inquiries I unhesi-
tatingly state that I was your room-mate while you were
engaged in the study of medicine in Philadelphia, in the
winter of 1850-'51, and that you then conceived the idea of
injecting morphia subcutaneously, and wrote a thesis recom-
mending its administration in that manner for the relief of
pain.

" I remain very truly, yours,

" George F. Wilkins.

" To Dr. Edward Warren-Bey,

Paris, France."

144 A DOCTORS EXPERIENCES

he had just returned from a trip abroad and was
tilled with enthusiasm for things outremer^ he soon
inspired me with an ardent desire to visit Paris,
for the purpose of seeing its great hospitals and
listening to its renowned professors. Having
worked with great assiduity, I soon found myself
in position to realize this wish, with which I was
glad to find my father in the fullest sympathy, his
kind heart prompting him to any sacrifice having
for its object my advancement in medical knowledge
and professional reputation. I therefore perfected
my arrangements, and left home in the fall of 1854,
expecting to spend a year abroad, and leaving many
tearful eves behind me in old Eden ton.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 145

LETTER IX.

A VISIT TO PAEIS.

My Dear Doctor :

I sailed from New York late in November, 1854,
on the steamer " Pacific," of the Collins line, and,
considering that she was a side-wheeler, and that
it was the season of " storms," we had a good pass-
a,ge_, and arrived at Queenstown on the morning of
the tenth day. Only a little while before the
steamer ''Arctic" had been run down off Cape
Kace, carrying with her many valuable lives ; and
as we passed the locality of the disaster every coun-
tenance wore a somber aspect. We were the more
disposed to gloom and apprehension because of the
constant sounding of the fog-horn, which is not
exhilarating, to say the least of it. Indeed, there
is something so sepulchral in its notes that they
bring visions of disaster to the minds of the bravest,
whatever they may say or assume to the contrary.
I once heard an old salt remark: ''Somehow I
can't get used to the darn'd thing. I never hear
it without wishing I was safely buried once and for
all in the family graveyard on shore, where I
could never hear it again." I appreciated his feel-
ings, and sympathized with his sentiments to the
fullest extent, especially on this occasion. Taking
into account the number of ships that sail the sea,
the difficulty of locating the sound when it is heard,
^nd the fact that no response can be made by sail-
10

146 A doctor's experiences

ing vessels and icebergs, the wonder is that the
number of recorded collisions is so limited. Doubt-
less there are many whose histories are among the
mysteries which the day of doom alone will disclose,
for the merciless waves keep no record of their tri-
uphs. This very ship, the ''Pacific," a few years
subsequently, left Liverpool with a rich cargo and
a full list of passengers, and was never heard of
again — disappeared forever, without leaving a trace
or a token behind.

But no answer came to our warning signals, and
we went on our way rejoicing at our good fortune^
and delighted to leave the Banks with their fogs
and icebergs in our wake.

I paid the usual tribute to old ocean, and was
desperately sick for several days, unable to leave
my berth, suffering with perpetual nausea, dis-
gusted with life, and wishing myself "anywhere,
anywhere out of the world."

Sea-sickness is, indeed, a curious malady, and
the theories which have been advanced concerning
its etiology and the remedies recommended for its
treatment are as numerous as the waves of the sea.
Some persons escape it altogether, while others suf-
fer from it invariably — no amount of experience or
'precaution securing for them an exemption.

I have crossed the ocean many times, and since my
first voyage I have never experienced the slightest
symptom of this malady, while Captain Nye told
me that, although he had been a "sailor-man " for
more than thirty years, he never escaped an attack
of sea-sickness after leaving shore. The very young
and the aged are but little liable to it, and readily
recover when attacked. I am convinced that the
affection is a composite phenomenon, resulting
from the combined effects of shock to the nervous
system and of the impression made upon the sen-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 147

sorium by the movement of the abdominal viscera,
and the disturbed condition of the special senses.
The nerve centers, being surprised by the sudden,
unusual, and varied movements to which they are
exposed, are incapable of responding with adequate
supplies of nerve force, and, hence, vasor-motor
disturbances manifest themselves in deranged ac-
tion of the heart and arteries, in anaemia and
abnormal irritability of the brain, and in disturb-
ances of the secerning organs generally ; while the
oscillation of the viscera contained in the abdomi-
nal cavity, especially the stomach, together with
the confused and peculiar impressions made upon
the vision, hearing, taste, etc., completes the con-
dition, makes up the pathological entity, to which
the term sea-sickness is applied. The gastric dis-
turbances, which constitute the most prominent
symptoms and the chief sources of discomfort, are
essentially secondary or reflex phenomena, and
should not be confounded with the disease itself —
should not be taken for causes 'when they are really
effects.

The attack begins with a sense of giddiness and
a feeling of sinking about the epigastrium, which
are speedily followed by nausea, vomiting, loath-
ing for food, a state of mental depression bordering
on despair, constipation of the bowels, and cold-
ness of the extremities. The matters vomited are
acid, and contain mucus and large quantities of
bile. The emesis continues or is reproduced whe i-
ever food is seen or thought of. A certain amount
of bile finds its way into the stomach, as there is a
tendency to regurgitation. Indeed, it seems legiti-
mate to conclude that the constipation which char-
acterizes this affection is due in a measure to the
fact that bile does not flow downward into the in-
testines, but upward into the stomach. As a gen-

148 A doctor's experiences

era! rule, the nervous system gradually becomes
accustomed to its surroundings, and learns to ac-
commodate itself to the new condition of things ;
the shocks are less felt and more appropriately re-
sponded to ; the circulation gradually regains its
equilibrium ; the brain grows more insensible to
disturbances through the special senses ; the condi-
tions which invite and facilitate reflex phenouiena
are removed, and the symptoms dependent upon
them ameliorate or subside ; and convalescence
begins and continues until the normal state of
health is re-established.

Sometimes, however, reaction is delayed, and a
chronic condition of nervous exhaustion remains,
which is characterized by a constant disposition to
vomit, coldness of the extremities, a sense of con-
striction about the temples, attacks of syncope,
insomnia or the opposite condition, and profound
constipation. Then, again, there is occasionally
associated with the subsidence of the more acute
symptoms a febrile state either with or without
gastritis, cerebritis or other local complication.

With some nervous persons, especially those
who have been unable to relieve themselves by
vomiting, there is swooning with hysterical mani-
festations of every known type and degree.

It is a popular impression that pregnant women
abort at sea. On the contrary as a general rule
they do very well, especially if the voyage be made
after the third and htfore the seventh month of
uterine gestation, as I have learned from extensive
observation. It has become fashionable of late for
the newly married to take a trip abroad, and many
a reluctant sweetheart is made a happy wife by the
promise of such an excursion, not remembering
that ''some things ma}" happen as well as others"
over the sea. Indeed, I look forward with confidence

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 149

to an annual harvest from the nauseated and dis-
gusted bi'ides, who instead of having the gk)rious
time abroad which fancy had pictured under the in-
spiration of love's young dream," are compelled to
pass their honeymoons in cheerless hotels or dismal
pensions^ nauseated beyond expression or vomiting
themselves nearly to death, and h4rrassed by the
apprehension of their inability to return home until
a baby and a nurse have been added to the menage.
I generally succeed in soothing their rebellious
stomachs by the liberal employment of the bro-
mides, ingluvin and the oxalate of cerium, and in
relieving their anxious minds by th.Q assurance
that they can recross the ocean by quietly waiting
until the third month of pregnancy has passed. I
believe that I have been thanked on account of this
assurance as often and as emphatically as for any
other professional work and without a mishap in
any instance. When a woman in an interesting
condition crosses the sea, there seems to be ''a little
cherub sitting up aloft' ' especially commissioned to
protect her and the helpless babe she bears ; and
you know that Denman long ago declared that
"she who vomits most aborts least as a general
rule."

,1 have noticed one thing which is rather strange
and difficult to account for ; in many instances
after attacks of sea-sickness the menstrual flow does
not recur for a month or tv/o ; though the per-
manganate of potash in two grain doses three times
daily, for three or four days before the expected
period, will generally reproduce it.

The treatment of sea-sickness divides itself natu-
rally into the employment o^ preventive and of cura-
tive measures.

I am convinced — and I speak advisedly — that in
an immense majority of instances attacks of sea-

150 A doctor's experiences

sickness can be prevented, and by very simple
measures. Should you contemplate another sea-
voyage j my friend, let me advise you to trj^ the fol-
lowing plan of preventive treatment: For one week
before your departure take twenty grains of the bro-
mide of sodium,, twenty grains of bicarbonate of
soda, and one drachm of compound tincture of car-
damon in two ounces of green-mint water, t^vo
hours after each meal ; take a mild laxative, such
as Jackson's aperient, compound liquorice powder
or a seidlitz powder, every third morning at an
early hour ; eat liberally of simple and easily-di-
gested food ; drink with your meals a small quan-
tity of the stimulant to which you are most accus-
tomed ; and live as much as possible in the open
air. After getting on shipboard, make it a point
at once to eat a good meal of such food as I have
just referred to ; to go on deck and remain station-
ary there ; and to continue exactly the same treat-
ment as I have prescribed for three or four days,
when the laxative should only be employed accord-
ing to the necessities of the system. After this, the
brpmide can be diminished by five grains for each
dose until the mixture contains none of it. Do
these things with absolute regularity, and I will
stake the best hat of the Boulevards against the
poorest one in Baltimore that you will escape an
attack of sea-sickness, and will feel better when you
reach Liverpool than when you left New York.

But if, perchance, you should find yourself sick
at sea, then carry out to the letter the following
system of treatment: go to your state-room, remove
your clothes, get into your bej'th, and keep your
head on the same level with your body ; inject
hypodermically one- quarter of a grain of morphia
with one-sixtieth of a grain of atropia ; cover your-
self well and apply bottles of warm water to your

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 151

feet, a bag of hot water to your spine, and a com-
press saturated with a mixture of the tincture of
iDelladonna and camphor water to the epigastrium,
keeping it in position by means of a bandage tied
tightly around the body ; stuff your ears with cot-
ton wool, tie a handkerchief over your eyes, and
smell cologne water or some agreeable perfume
from time to time ; purify the atmosphere of your
state-room with some disinfectant of a pleasant odor,
say the spray of thymol or eucalyptus, or by burn-
ing some aromatized pastile ; have the receptacle
for the matters vomited perfumed and kept out of
sight until it is required for use ; take ten grains
of the bromide of sodium, ten grains of the bicar-
bonate of soda, and one teaspoonful of com-
pound tincture of cardamon in an ounce of green-
mint water every second hour, and a half glass of
milk with one tablespoonful of lime-water and two
teaspoonfuls of brandy or old julep, or kirsch, each
alternate hour, for six consecutive hours, unless
sleep be induced in the mean time.

At the earliest possible moment of recuperation
go or be carried on deck and keep in a reclining
position there, well wrapped up ; and finally, de-
crease the remedies or extend the time for their
administration and get back to your usual food
through the intermediaries of beef tea, milk toast,
farinaceous substances generally, ice-cream, etc.
Be sure not to surfeit yourself with fruit, for it is
only refreshing and diverting, and take care to
drink not more than three or four sherry glasses of
champagne during the day if it be taken at all.
Do not forget to take a mikU laxative on the suc-
ceeding morning, and afterward when indicated.
This treatment will cure you promptly, and when
the attack is over you will find that you have not
lost strength, and are in condition to gratify the

152 A doctor's experiences

ravenous appetite whicli usually comes after an at-
tack of sea-sickness.

The great point to keep in mind is that hromin-
ism antagonises that combination of morbid con-
ditions which constitutes sea-sickness, and that the
sooner it is induced and the more persistently it is
maintained — provided the system be not permitted
to become enfeebled by it — the greater is the cer-
tainty of preventing an attack and of curing one
after it has been developed.

I made the acquaintance of some charming peo-
ple, notably the Horners, of Philadelphia, Dr. Epps,
of Virginia, Miss Matilda Heron, Dr. and Mrs.
George, of Baltimore, with several of whom I had
pleasant associations afterward, as I shall relate
in the progress of this narrative. At Liverpool I
stopped at the Adelphi Hotel, which was then the
principal house of the city, and still compares favor-
ably with its more modern and pretentious rivals.
In this connection I would say that my experience
of depot hotels has been unfortunate. As a general
thing their principal stock in trade is convenience
of location, while their guests get less of substan-
tial comfort and more of unblushing impudence for
their money than those of any other public houses
upon this side of the "water." Certainly they
are the darkest holes in existence, to judge from
the number of bougies which illuminate V addition —
it should be called la multiplication — with which
their directors delight to speed the parting guest.

I remember having been compelled to pay on one
occasion for twenty-four candles which "mine host"
declared had been consumed in two bed-chambers
between the hours of six and ten P.. M., in a single
night. A remonstrance, made in the mildest
manner, only resulted in the payment of the bill
on my part, and in a threat by the proprietor to

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 153

have me arrested as a swindler. Siicli is the wicked-
ness of the workl !

On the second day after my arrival I visited a
small manufacturing town about sixty miles from
Liverpool. The object of this visit was to take a
small amount of money which a friend of mine —
an Englishman residing in America^ had sent to his
aged mother. He had requested me specially to
deliver it into her hands, thinking she w^ould be
pleased to see one who knew him personally, and
who could tell her about him and his family.

My friend had been successful in business, and
having married a lady of position, had brought up
his children to consider themselves aristocrats.

I had great difficulty in finding the object of my
search, as there was nothing to indicate the name
of the street, and no numbers by w^hich to distin-
guish the houses. Finally, by diligent inquiry,
and the help of a policeman whose language I could
understand, I found the residence of the lady.
Ringing the bell, an old woman presented herself,
clad in a calico frock which had seen better days,
with a white cotton cap on her head and the
stump of a pipe in her mouth, to whom I made my-
self known and stated the object of my visit. Fol-
lowing her into the humble abode — for, though I
could not understand a w^ord that she said as she
spoke the Lancashire dialect, I saw from her gestures
that she desired me to enter — I immediately
begged her to find an interpreter, which she did
in the person of one of her granddaughters, a
factory girl of eighteen. While she could under-
stand me the young lady had to speak for her, and
we had a long talk together in regard to her son
and his children. Though she plied me wdth
questions, I saw from her sighs^ tears and down-
cast eyes that there was something on her mind

154 A doctor's experiences

which, though it troubled her greath^ she
hesitated to ask about. Finally I said to her :

^' Madam, I ara about to leave you, and if there
is any further information I can give, don't hesitate
to call for it. I shall be happy to answer your
questions."

^' Well, sir," she said, growing red in the face
and twisting the corner of her apron violently,
^Hhere is one more question I would, indeed, like
to ask. It is concerning a subject that has caused
me many anxious thoughts, but that I feel a
delicacy in talking about."

'^I am at your service, madam; do just as
you think best," said I, offering my hand, pre-
paratory to leaving.

"Oh, I can't let you go without getting satis-
faction about the thing that has worried me so
much^ for it has been near upon thirty years that
I have thought about it and prayed over it, and so
wished to know the exact truth in regard to it."

"I shall be happy to put your mind at rest if I
can. What would you like to know?"

"Well, if I must I must, but you won't tell
James that I asked you. What I want to know is
this : are my grandchildren very black .?"

" I confess that I do not know what you mean,
Mrs. P. Are your grandchildren black T'

" Yes, that is what I asked; and you don't know
how it has pained me to think that James' children
are black. Are they very black — as black as their
mother?"

" Why, madam, their mother is not a negress.
She is as white as you or I, and so are her children.
What could have put such an idea into your head?"

" Thank the Lord ! Thank the good Lord ! I
knew James had married an American woman, and
I concluded of course that her children had her

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 155

complexion. And my dear grandchildren are white
after all ! Now I can die in peace."

" Why, madam, I am an American and not black,
as you see. What did you take me for?"

'^Well. I can't say exactly. I thought you
might have bleached your face white, or that both
of your parents were English folks. I am so glad
that you came. I am happier to-day than I have
been for thirty long, long years, for I have been
thinking all that time that my grandchildren were
black, and praying the Lord to take some of the
color out of them. Are you not deceiving me?"

''No, madam, I am not deceiving you, and I
rejoice that I have been the means of thus relieving
and comforting you. It is worth a passage across
the Atlantic to be the bearer of information which
has given you so much pleasure."

And I left her crying and thanking the Lord and
blessing me — the happiest woman in all England
that day.

I have since found out that it is a common belief
among the lower classes in England that all Ameri-
cans are black, and hence the sorrow which had
possessed this old woman's soul for so many years,
and the joy which my coming brought to her.

Many times afterward when I saw her son's
family flourishing in society, and assuming the airs
of aristocrats, I recalled the poor old woman over
the ocean and the smile of joy which illuminated
her countenance when she learned that her grand-
children were not black, and that her son had after
all married a white woman.

Such is American aristocracy — its roots often
running to a tattered calico gown or to a ''bob-
tail" tobacco pipe in " the old countrie !"

These were good people at heart, despite their
aristocratic assumptions, and when I saw them re-

156 A doctor's experiences

duced to poverty by the war and compelled to work
as their fathers had done before them, my heart
went out to them in a full tide of regret and sym-
pathy. So runs the world away, and it is thus that
the pride is taken out of men in ways which they
have not calculated upon or dreamed of.

Speaking of mushroom aristocracy reminds me
of an incident which occurred a few years since at
a European watering-place, where, for the nonce,
it was reigning triumphantly. An American gen-
tleman, Mr. P., of New Orleans, was spending the
summer there very quietly, but as he had neither
the talent nor the inclination to court ''the set"
who had appropriated the place, they turned up
their noses at him and condemned him to an absolute
social ostracism.

One day I overheard the following conversation
between a real American lady, who had married a
foreigner of distinction, and a ''young blood" not
remarkable for his intelligence or for his indepen-
dence of character :

"Well, Mr. X.," she said, "do tell me what
you all have against Mr. P., for he seems to be a
gentleman, and to have as much money as the rest
of you?"

"Oh! I have nothing against him personally,
but they do say some rather hard things about
him."

" What do they say about him ?"

" I don't want to be mixed up with the affair,
and don't like to mention what they charge him
with . ' '

" Do they reflect on his moral character ?"

"No ; not at all."

" Do they question his intelligence ?"

" No."
"Do they doubt his integrity?"

IN THREE CONTINENTS. IST

" Do they say that he is poor?"

''No."

" Then I insist upon knowing what they do say
to his discredit."

"Well;, madam, entrenous, and in the strictest
confidence — but mind, I know nothing about it my-
self— they say that he actually commenced life as a
shoemaker, and made his money by getting a run
on his gaiters."

"And you had cut him on that account ?"

"Well, yes; I was obliged to do it. They all
cut him for it, and I had to do the same."

" Now, just let me say a word to you, Mr. X.,
and you must not be offended : I knew your father
when he kept a candy shop in the Bowery, and I
knew the ancestors of every one in your ' set,' and
they all kept shops or worked for a living. Now,
we are a nation of shop-keepers and working-men,
and for Americans to come abroad and put on such
airs as you and your friends are assuming here is
simply ridiculous. Even if Mr. P. was originally
a shoemaker, and has accumulated enough money
to educate himself, and nothing can be said against
his character or his deportment, those who ' throw
stones' at him ought to remember what their
fathers were and who they are. My husband shall
call on him to-morrow and invite him to our house,
so as to show him that he is not surrounded entirely
by snobs and parvenus. Such conduct as you and
your ' set' have been guilty of makes me blush
for my country, while it excites universal disgust
with the respectable people of this community."

The young man, though not a Solomon, was

good-hearted aufond, and he promptly answered :

"You put.it strong, Mrs. Y., but you are right.

I am ashamed of the part I have taken in this

158 A doctor's experiences

matter, aad I, too, shall call on him and treat him
hereafter as a gentleman. Besides, there is na
proof that he was a shoemaker, and he certainl}^
dresses as well as the best of them.''

Both parties carried out their intentions, and in
a few days there was a complete reaction in favor
of the quondam shoemaker, and nothing further
was said to his discredit.

I had made the acquaintance on ship-hoard of
a young American woman who was en route to
France, at the invitation of the Emperor to intro-
duce the sewing-machine, and I had the good for-
tune to meet her and her friends again at the sta-
tion and to travel with them to -Paris. I was
struck with her intelligence and her independence
of character, and I bade her adieu, fully partici-
pating in her bright anticipations of the future,
but never expecting to see her again. More than
twenty-five years afterward I returned to Paris,
arid one of my first patients was the wife of a lead-
ing American dentist. After having known her
for several years, and having prescribed for her
frequently, I was struck one day with something
in the tones of her voice which set me thinking of
the past.

"Will you excuse me,'-' said I, "if I ask you
when you first came to Paris?"

"Certainly. It was in the winter of 1854."

"And you crossed the ocean in the Pacific?"

"Yes."

"And you came at the invitation of the Emperor
to introduce and explain the sewing-machine?"

" Yes. But who made you so wise?"

" Do you remember one of ycwir fellow-passen-
gers— a young physician who w^as coming abroad
to study his profession, and who took a great lik-
ing to you?"

i

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 159

'^ 1 remember him perfectly, though I have for-
gotten his name. He was certainly very polite,
and I have often wondered what had become of
him. Do you know him?"

"Yes, madam, I have known him intimately
for years. His name is Warren, and he stands be-
fore you. I am the man.''

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible. Doctor!
You are only joking."

"But why impossible?"

" Simply because — because — he was a far better
lookino; man than vou are, if vou will excuse me
for saying so."

"Ah, madam, he had the advantage of me by
twenty-five years, and in the fact that he had
never known then a real care or sorrow ; but, nev-
ertheless, he and I are one and the same man. I
am what remains of the young doctor who crossed
the ocean with you."

" Then I am doubly your friend — for the good
you have done me professionally and for old ac-
quaintance sake as well," she said, shaking me
warmly by the hand ; and I can add that I have
never had a more faithful friend in Paris.

When I questioned her about the sewing-ma-
chine and the millions that she supposed to be in
it, she told me substantially the same story which
I have heard from so many of my fellow-country-
men, who have sought to realize fortunes by intro-
ducing American inventions into France. She
was well received ; she had an audience with the
Emperor, and she worked the machine to his en-
tire satisfaction. It was adopted by the govern-
ment for the war department; but instead of giv-
ing her and those she represented an order, the
French authorities went quietly to work and re-
produced the machine from her model, manufac-

160 A doctor's experiences

tured as many as they wanted, and left her '^ out'
in the cold,'" with hut the scantiest remuneration
and without the slightest chance of redress. She
then had to bestir herself to keep the wolf from
th(^ door — she had to paddle her own canoe or to
go under, which she did not propose to do if she
knew herself. Many women would have gone to
the devil, biit she went to work, and by the force
of her own will and her marriage with a man who
though not rich had the right stuff in him, she
has come to be prosperous and is in a fair way to
make a fortune. As I feel a personal interest in
this good woman's fight witii the world and its
fortunate issue, I take delight in chronicling it
here as an illustration of what American pluck
can do when it unfurls its flag and takes the field,
whatever may be the odds against it or however •
adverse the circumstances by which it is sur-
rounded.

Her husband has a history as well, and an honor-
able one. Though a native of Ohio — the mother of
lucky men — he was residing in Mississippi when
the war broke out, and the "conscription," which
respected neither age, nor condition, nor antece-
dents, put him in the army and sent him to the
front. Out of respect for his weight and proportions^
he was promoted from his place as high private to
the position of chief cook of the regiment, and when
Fort Pillow fell he was carried to Elmira and im-
prisoned in the stockades. There his friends found
him and secured his liberation, supposing he would
hasten to take up arms against those who had
made him a soldier malgre lui and condemned him
to boil greens in the kitchen rather than reap
laurels in the trenches. The sequel shows that
there was something besides adipose in that capa-
cious breast of his ; for, remembering the kindness

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 161

which he had received at the hands of his South ~
ern friends, and feeling no resentment against a
law which though harsh in its operations was a
necessity in itself, he resolved to remain a neutral
in the fight. Influenced by these feelings he came
to Paris, weak in purse but strong in the knowl-
edge of his art, and in that courage which awaits
its opportunity and then goes in and wins. When
the Commune raised its blood-stained banner and
attempted to make up in atrocity that which it
wanted in courage — appalling mankind and dis-
gracing humanity and outraging heaven by the
very wantonness of its crimes — he was residing in
the neighborhood of the Madeleine. Finding one
day a poor priest in danger of his life from the in-
furiated rabble, he rescued him at great personal
risk, carried him to his apartment, and gave him
an asylum there until the peril had passed and
order was restored. Though not a Catholic in re-
ligion, for this act of mercy and heroism the Pope
created him a "Chevalier of the Order of 8t.
Gregory," the King of Spain made him a " Knight
of the Order of Isabella the Catholic," the French
government gave him the " Cross of the Legion of
Honor," and the congregation of the church over-
whelmed him with a patronage from which he is
reaping a golden harvest. From this you will see
that the husband of my old friend of the " Pacific
is no ordinary man — that he is, in fact, a hero and
a humanitarian. His name is E. B, Loud, and he
resides on the Boulevard Malesherbes, where he
pursues his vocation as humbly and as successfully
as if his life was passed without an incident or an
honor. >
11

162 A doctor's experiences

LETTER X.

IX PAEIS.

My Dear Doctor :

On my arrival at Paris I put up at the Hotel de
Lille et cV Albion, wliicli then occupied the present
site of the Hotel St. James in the Rue St. Honore,
and joined my friend Dr. Epps, who had preceded
me by a day or two.

One of the earliest and most agreeable of my ex-
periences was a dinner given by Dr. Epps at Phil-
lippes — then noted for its fish specialties — for it
proved at once the source of new sensations and of
enduring memories. Since then I have been en-
abled to appreciate the significance of the exclama-
tion which couples the " Gods and the little fishes, '^
and I have felt assured that the invocation originated
with the primal ancestor of the cook who conceived
the dainty dishes upon which we regaled ourselves
on that memorable occasion.

In those times the Palais Royale was the center
from which emanated the laws of gastronomy for
the world. Its restaurants and cafes surpassed in
the splendor of their appointments, the magnifi-
cence of their cuisines and the richness of their
caves all that epicurianism had previously dreamed
of. Their chefs were known and their menus were
sought after wherever the language of France was
spoken and as far as her renown had penetrated. In
truth, the French people having been diverted from

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 16S^

the eternal study of politics by the strong hand of
their new master, had abandoned themselves to the
gratification of their appetites, and transformed
the abodes of their former kings into temples of
gluttony, wherein sensuality held perpetual carni-
val, with cooks and caterers as its high priests and
demigods.

It was, indeed^ a new revelation to wander
through the long corridors, so rich in architectural
treasures and historic associations, and to w^atch
the throngs of gourmands as they hurried to the
groaning tables, and to listen to the perpetual re-
frain of clinking glasses and hilarious laughter
and hurrying feet, and the commingling voices of
impatient guests and obsequious garcons, which
told of the saturnalia that reigned within.

With the overthrow of the empire and the in-
auguration of the special political era which ha&
succeeded it — for from the humblest chiffonier to
the serenest prince every Frenchman is now devot-
ing himself to public affairs — epicurianism has
waned and the glory of the Palais Koyale has de-
parted.

This reversion of the popular mind to politics —
to the overthrow of cabinets, the making of presi-
dents, and the establishment of dynasties, together
with the fact that fickle fashion has turned its face
up-townward, has left that quartier almost exclu-
sively to the frequenters of second-class brasseries y
dealers in imitation jewelry, keepers of tobacco
shops and foreign tourists, who with red guide books
and dust-covered garments can be daily found there
collecting materials for their diaries, and doing
Paris to their own satisfaction and to the utter dis-
gust of its inhabitants.

While Les Irois Freres, Phillippes, VefourSy
etc., have become things of the past, Bignon,

164 A DOCTOR "S EXPERIENCES

Voisin, and the Cafe Anglais have "come to the
front,"' and though less frequented than their
predecessors in puhlic favor, they are likely to con-
tinue la mode until society has assumed a new
phase under the impetus of another revolution.

What strange creatures are the French ! They
are happy only when the}^ have found a new ob-
ject upon which to lavish their caresses or to ex-
pend their malignity — something to crown either
with laurels or with thorns. Their element is ex-
tremes, whether it be in the worship of kings or of
regicides — the deification of their consciences or
the indulgence of their passions — the annihilation
of their enemies or the destruction of each other..
And yet where would art and science and civil-
ization be without them? What people have ex-
pended their treasures and spent their blood so
lavishly for humanity? What page in history is
illustrated with nobler sacrifices and more glorious
deeds than theirs? 1 must confess that when I
contemplate the "red ribbon" upon my breast,
and remember that it represents " the Legion of
Honor of France," my heart beats with a quicker
impulse and a prouder thrill, and I feel that it
transcends in value all the honors which the na-
tions of the earth combined could give.

The great rivals of the cafe^ as well as of the
domestic circle are the clubs of Paiis. Since the
limitation of lyuhlic gambling to the principality of
Monaco, 'private play has assumed enormous pro-
portions. Like a great colossus it now bestrides
society, while religion and morality lie writhing
beneath its feet. The propensity to seek recreation
or occupation in gambling seems to be the predomi-
nating impulse of the modern Frenchman. Feel-
ing its domination and appreciating its power,' he
makes no attempt at resistance, and becomes at

IN THREE CONTINENTS. ' 165

once its slave and its victim. The very fact of the-
law's intervention gives a keener relish to its in-
dulgence, by appealing to his natural inclination to
rebellion and to his inherent love of excitement.
Cupidity also plays an important role in stimulat-
ing this vicious appetite, for a passion for dis-
play and a devotion to pleasure cannot be indulged
in without money, and the gaming table offers,
consequently, a special and perpetual temptation
to the gentlemen of this country.

With strange inconsistency, public gambling is
made a crime while private gambling is encouraged
by the licensing of circles, which are notoriously
organized for its indulgence. While chiefly used
for this purpose they possess, nevertheless, all the
appurtenances of veritable clubs, and they seek to
rival each other in the excellence of their caves
and the magnificence of their cuisines as a means
of attracting membersliip and of securing the at-
tendance of those whose names are already upon
their rolls. It is tlius that they have become the
successful rivals of the cafes as well as the de-
stroyers of the home life of the Parisians.

From what I have seen of the effect of tlie legal
restrictions imposed upon public gambling, I am
convinced that it would be far wiser either to pro-
hibit play entirely or to license ma.isons de Jeu,.
placing them under strict. police surveillance.

When certain myopic philanthropists have suc-
ceeded in their crusade against Monaco — which is
the " last lone asylum " of gambling in Europe —
so far from stamping out this vice, as they exjject
to do, they will find that they have only stimulated
and increased it ; that while damming the stream
and closing its outlet, they have only caused it to
overflow its banks and to cover a wider area. The
scenes which now disgrace Monte Carlo will then

166 A doctor's experiences

be repeated in every capital of Europe and es-
pecially in Paris, with an increased frec[uency and
an exaggeration of incident.

I am no advocate of gambling or apologist for
tbe gambler — on the contrary, I abhor the one and
despise the other — but I am convinced that there
are certain weaknesses or vices of human nature
which must have their '' run " in spite of every
effort to prevent them, and that it is wiser to direct
and regulate them than to attempt the useless task
of proscribing them by an appeal to legal enact-
ments. How many drunkards have been reformed
by the Maine liquor law ? To what extent has the
€ause of temperance been promoted by prohibitory
enactments ?

By the kind assistance of Dr. Epps, I was soon
installed at No. 10, Rue de Buci, in the famous
Latin Quartier, and I went diligently to work visit-
ing the hospitals and attending the lectures of such
of the professors as had most reputation at the
time. Of the hospitals I was most attracted by
the Hotel Dieu, La Chariie, Le Midi, and La Fiiie,
for I had the pleasure of meeting in their wai'ds
Trousseau, Velpean, Piorry, Robin, Nelaton, Jo-
bert de Lambell, Ricord, Maissonneuve, .Audral
and Dubois — men who have never been surpassed
in learning, skill and the power of impressing the
minds of those who listened to their instruction.
I regarded it as a special blessing and privilege
thus to see and hear these great men ; and I
labored faithfully to take in and store up the in-
iormation which they sought to impart to their ad-
miring students. Many a time in after life^ alike
amid the swamps of Carolina, the battle-fields of
Virginia, the sands of Egypt, and the quartiers of
Paris — in the hour of supreme anxiety and re-
sponsibility— I have had occasion to avail myself

IN THREE continents". 167

of the knowledge which they imparted and have
paid them the tribute of my warmest gratitude.

With a single exception all of them have paid
the debt of nature, and their places have been
filled and the busy world has forgotten them ; but
they still live in the memory of those who listened
to their worc^ of wisdom and eloquence as well as
upon the proudest pages in the history of medicine.

The only survivor of this splendid galaxy of
great men is the venerable Ricord, who at the ad-
vanced age of eighty years still pursues his pro-
fession with a zeal and an energy unsurpassed by
the youngest of his brethern. Nor is he only an
accomplished specialist, such as the professional
world has long regarded him. He is emphatically
a great physician in all regards, and as a general
consultant he has few equals and no superiors. I
have repeatedly called on him in difficult cases of
every variety, and I have been invariably impressed
by his consummate skill as a diagnostician, his
profound knowledge of medicine^ and the richness
and variety of his store of remedial agents, together
with his great urbanity and goodness of heart.

He is, as you know, a Marylander by birth, and
his attachment to his native country and his devo-
tion to his compatriots have always been extreme.
I must confess that when I have seen him on
public occasions — his breast covered with the dec-
orations wliich he has received for professional
triumphs and his devotion to humanit}^, and the
object of universal interest and respect — I have felt
proud to recognize him as an American, and more
in love than ever with my native land.

I once asked him, ''How it was that he had
managed to survive so many of his contemporaries,
and to preserve so marvelously his health and
faculties?'* He smiled, and answered: "By re-

168 A doctor's experiences

solving not to permit myself to become fatigued —
by takinjJT two davs of holiday out of every week
and spending at my country seat in the fresh air,
removed from work and responsibility." He takes
no single vacation as many of our physicians do in
order to recuperate their wasted energies, but he
precludes the possibility of his becoming fatigued
and prostrated by separating himself from the
cares and responsibilities of business, in the manner
that he explained to me. The result demonstrates
the wisdom of his plan of prevention, for though
an octogenarian, he is as actively engaged in pro-
fessional work, and with a mind as vigorous and a
zeal as fervid as when I knew him thirty years

ago.

He is, indeed, a great and glorious old man, an
honor alike to the country of his nativity and of
his adoption, a shining light in the profession of
his choice, and an ornament to society, which he
still affects, and from w^hich he receives an exhaust-
less tribute of reverence and admiration.

It is true that the theories w^ith which he once
astonished the world and made himself famous have
been left amid the debris which the stream of time
has collected upon its shores, but it is equally
certain that he made great advances in his specialty,
and that his labors and researches opened the way
to the attainment of a far more correct and certain
knowledge of its essential nature and clinical
history than would have been possible without
them. If his doctrines did not embody the absolute
truth, they were most closely related to it — they
were what the '' outer-reef" is to the "mainland/'
a proof of its proximity and a guide to its shores.
At any rate, the name of Ricord has gone around
the world, and will live while ^Esculapius has a
temple or science a worshiper upon the earth.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 169

I frequented the hospital of La Charlie, as I have
already mentioned, for I had there an opportunity
of witnessing the operations of Yelpeau and of hear-
ing the clinical lectures of Piorry, as well as of re-
ceiving private instruction in auscultation and per-
cussion from an interne who has since played a con-
spicuous part in medicine, and of whom I shall
speak more particularly hereafter.

We are all prone to form, ideals of those whose
hooks we read and of whom we hear much, and I
naturally expected to find in Velpeau a man cast in
the heroic mold. You can therefore understand my
disappointment when I saw him enter the arena at
La Charife, and found him a bent, w izen- faced ,
watery-eyed, desiccated, diminutive old man, with
so indistinct, an intonation and so rapid an enun-
ciation as to render it difficult to understand a
word he said. I was about to give expression to
my disappointment in a hasty retreat wdien he took a
knife in his hand, and I determined to wait and wit-
ness the operation which he proposed to perform. In
an instant a complete change came over the man.
The touch of the instrument seemed to send an
electric shock through his entire frame, unsealing
the fountains of vitality and transforming him into
a new being. The stoop disappeared from his
shoulders and he stood as erect and stately as a
soldier on duty ; his lack-luster eyes regained their
normal brilliancy and gleamed like those of an
eagle; his wrinkled countenance expanded under
the stimulus of a more rapid blood current, and
assumed the hue and aspect of vigorous manhood ;
and he looked in all respects the hero and the
surgeon that he was, and that the world recognized
him to be.

From that time forward I never missed one of
his clinics, for I felt always that I was in the pres-

170 A doctor's experiences

eace of a master — of one whose genius threw a
spell of fascination over all that he said and did.

Piorry was not simply an enthusiast on the sub-
ject of physical diagnosis, but a monomaniac. He
seemed to think that the whole art of ph3^sic con-
sisted in ascertaining the nature and the extent of
lesions, and then in verifying the diagnoses by a
post mortem examination. With the cure of disease
he did not concern himself, leaving the result to
nature alone. The domain of therapeutics was to
him a terra incognita, into which he never entered
save with halting steps and the air of an alien and
an intruder.

I have repeatedl}^ seen him trace upon the sur-
face the exact seat and the gradual extension of the
malady, and then patiently await the conclusion,
in order to demonstrate the correctness of his ori-
ginal diagram. Strange to relate, the patients
soon accustomed themselves to this mapping-out
process, and took as lively an interest in the extend-
ing lines as if they were to participate in their ul-
timate verification, and in the applause which was
to greet the professor's final triumph as a diagnos-
tician and a limner. This system of ante-mortem
delineation and i^ost-mortem verification of pen-and-
ink sketches upon the integuments of the living
and scalpel demonstrations upon the organs of the
dead always seemed to me the ne plus ultra of
scientific infatuation, to say nothing of its cold-
blooded cruelty. It was surely a peculiar way of
combatting disease and of teaching the healing art,
and despite his zeal and learning, I looked upon
Piorry as a hybrid^ to which the charlatan and the
doctor had furnished an equal proportion of com-
ponent elements. This idea perhaps does injustice
to his character and acquirements, BS he was greatly
esteemed by his contemporaries, and as his funeral,

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 171

which took place only a year or two since, was at-
tended by the leading medical men of Paris, all of
whom testified to his worth as a man and to his
merits as a physician.

I accidentally made the acquaintance of one of
his intey^nes, a young man whose serious mien and
accurate knowled2;e of the English language at-
tracted me from our first meetino^. Finding; him
unusually well informed and willing to teach, I
engaged him to give me private instructions in
physical diagnoses, and induced several compatriots
to join the class. This relation ripened into a warm
friendship, and the more intimately I became ac-
quainted with him the greater grew my respect for
his character and my admiration of his genius.
After a pleasant intercourse we parted in 1855 — I
to return to the swamps of North Carolina, and he
to remain in Paris — the best of friends and with
reciprocal good wishes, but without a thought that
our paths would meet again. Twenty-five years
afterward I was standing on the Boulevard des
Capucines, when a friend said to me : ''Look, there
goes the great doctor of Paris in that carriage with
the two fine horses.'^ I looked in the direction in-
dicated_, and, to my astonishment and delight,
recognized my former preceptor and old friend, Dr.
Charcot. I had often heard of Charcot in the
years which intervened between '55 and '75, and I
had read with delight the works which had ema-
nated from his prolific pen, but it had never entered
my head that the humble interne of La Charite was
the great professor whose fame had compassed the
globe.

I immediately addressed a note to him, and with-
out alluding to our past relations asked if he re-
membered me. He replied at once that he remem-
bered me well, and would be glad to have me call

172 A doctor's experiences

upon him at the earliest convenient moment. I
went to his house on the succeed ino; clay^ and was
received as a friend and brother — with a warmth
and kindliness which I can never forget. After
giving a rapid sketch of his career, which had only
been a succession of triumphs where competition was
most active and jealousy not the less vindictive, and
hearing what I had to say about myself, he said to
me :

" Is there anything I can do for you ; any way
in which I can conduce to your welfare or advance
your interests ?"

'^ Yes, doctor ; you have it in your power to do
me a great service — one for which I shall be eter-
nally grateful."

'' Name it, and count me at your service."

"Well, it is simply this: I cannot return to
Egypt because Dr. Landolt tells me that another
attack of ophthalmia will result in the loss of my
left eye. I desire, therefore, to remain in Paris,
and to practice medicine, which I cannot do with-
out a legal authorization. Will you use your in-
fluence to obtain this concession for me?"

" What you ask is difficult to obtain. The
faculty has taken position against these ^ minis-
terial authorizations,' and I am one of those who
have most persistently opposed them. How then
can I recommend you in the very teeth of my known
opposition to such recommendations ? I wish sin-
cerely to serve you, but I really do not see my way
clear in the matter."

"I will leave it to you, but I most earnestly en-
treat you to do it if you can. Excuse my impor-
tunity. I lia\^e so much at stake that I am forced
to be persistent."

" My dear friend, I will do my best, and if I fail
attribute the failure to anything else than a sincere

CHARCOT.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 173

desire to serve you. . Have 3^011 forwarded your ap-
plication?'^

''Yes; on yesterday."

'^I will go then at once and look into the mat-
ter. You will hear from me after a few days."

' ' Thanks ! I will trust implicitly to your friend-
ship, and I shall be equally grateful whether you
succeed or not. l^ow, adieu, for I have already
trespassed too long."

I will only add that after the lapse of a few
weeks I did receive the authorization, and I have
reason to know that it was obtained naainly through
the influence of Charcot. I have also to thank Dr.
Ricord for a kind letter of recommendation in this
regard, v/hich, doubtless, had its weight as well.

Thus was it demonstrated that neither the gilt
of exalted genius nor the possession of the highest
distinctions nor the command of unlimited wealth
nor aught else that is calculated to intoxicate or
pervert human nature could warp the soul of this
great and good man wdien friendship made its ap-
peal, and that a spirit of genuine loyalty still ex-
ists among men. I can never live long enough to
show the full extent of my. appreciation of his act
of kindness, not alone on account of the friendly
sentiments which it manifested, but because the
favor came at the most critical moment in my life's
history.

With Charcot's professional labors and triumphs
the world is familiar, and I relate this incident to
show that not less as a gentleman than as a scien-
tist he stands pre-eminent — primus inter pares.

I was greatly pleased with Nelaton, the surgeon
of the Ecole Fractique, who was then in the prime
of manhood and the flood tide of professional suc-
cess. Though not specially attracting by his en-
thusiasm and brilliancy, he had a certain composed
and self-confident manner about him which greatlv

174 A doctor's experiences

impressed his auditors and drew large crowds to
his lectures and clinics. He possessed a stately and
commanding person ; a large and well-developed
head; an oval face, with finely-cut features^andkindly
eyes of hluish gray ; a graceful carriage and a
pleasing address; a remarkably fluent delivery,
a hand of unfaltering steadiness and an exquisite
delicacy of touch.

Alike from his plain, practical, and perspicuous
lectures, and from his well-planned and admirably-
executed operations, I derived much benefit, and I
have always remembered my former master with
feelings of commingled pleasure and gratitude. If
he had done nothing more than invent the catheter
which bears his name, and discovered the process
for inverting the body in chloroform narcosis, he
would have well merited the applause of contem-
poraries and the homage of posterity.

Trousseau was then at the zenith of his fame
and popularity. He was certainly the ablest diag-
nostician I ever knew^ and his power of analysis
was not surpassed in his generation. With this
gift of eloquence he could render any subject at-
tractive, and I followed him with ever-increasing
admiration and enthusiasm.

I was particularly struck with his politeness and
tenderness toward his patients. He never forgot
that they were human beings^ and that his obliga-
tion wsis first to them ; that his special mission was
the relief of their sufferings and the cure of their
diseases. France has produced few such physi-
cians and teachers, and modern medicine must ac-
knowledge its indebtedness to him for its most
complete and philosophic work on therapeutics.
He died shortly after I left Paris, and at a com-
paratively early age, to the infinite regret, not
alone of those wdio w^ere connected with him by
personal relations, but of the disciples of science

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 175

throughout the world. He was truly a great phy-
sician and a thorough gentleman.

Jobert de Larabelle was also flourishing at the
Hotel DieUy and if there ever was a madman in the
ranks cf the profession, it was he. He was a sur-
geon of skill and dash, and his special infatuation
was the cauterization of wombs. He believed that
all the ills which feminine flesh is heir to origi-
nated either in an ulcerated or a cancerous condi-
tion of the uterus, and he kept a supply of iron
cauteries with which, through an ivory or horn
speculum, he seared the cervix of every woman
who entered his wards. Twice each week he held
his grand clinics in the amphitheater, at which he
did this operation on so large a scale that the at-
mosphere of the room was rendered insufl'erable by
the fumes and smoke of cauterized uterine tissues,
while on every morning he subjected some " poor
unfortunate" to the same fiery ordeal We called
his clinics the " barbecues" and his daily cauteriza-
tions the ^ ^ sbislW irj ," while the surgeon himself
was designated by the suggestive names of '' Le
Chef;' •' Old Griddle," and '' Dr. Beelzebub ;" for
students the world over will have their fun, and
their caustic wit is no respecter of persons or of
circumstances. This was my first experience with
gynoecologists, and it sowed the seeds of a prejudice
against their specialty which time has only served
to deepen and to intensify. One of the most dis-
tinguished physicians of New York — a leading
professor, and a late president of the American
Medical Association — recently remarked to me that
he believed "the race would be better off had
gynoecology never been invented," meaning that
the injury which bunglers, enthusiasts, and char-
latans have done in this connection greatly out-
weighs the good which others have accomplished,
and I am disposed to agree with him.

176 A doctor's experiences

Do not understand me as saying that there are
not cases of uterine disease which require appro-
priate local treatment, or that all who devote them-
selves to this branch of medicine are corrupt or in-
competent. I believe that the comfort of many a
woman has been promoted by the means thus in-
voked, and that there are men in the ranks of this
specialty who honor their profession by their skill
and their integrity. I would only enter ni}^ pro-
test against that incessant and insatiable search
for uterine maladies — that persistent and uncom-
promising crusade against the uterus — which gives
nature scarcely time for the performance of its
functions, and makes women nurses of wombs in-
stead of mothers of children. I simply take the
position that if this abuse of gynoecology is in-
separably associated with the practice of it, com-
mon sense commingles its voice with that of com-
mon humanit}" in regretting its discovery and de-
manding its limitation.

It is impossible to deny the fact ''that this
specialty opens the door wider to fraud and char-
latanism than any other. Only one eye looks
through the speculum to decide the question of
treatment, and to determine its results. The
gynoecologist is in the very nature of things above
criticism, beyond censure, and the absolate master
of the situation — directed by nothing save his in-
dividual judgment, and restrained only by his in-
herent sense of right. The temptation, therefore,
to do that out of which reputation can be made
and money coined is great — greater than in any
other "field connected with the profession — and it
requires a level head and a loyal heart, indeed, to
keep the gynoecologist always in the path of recti-
tude. Besides, say what you may, it does break
down the barriers which nature has erected between
the two sexes, and is ipso facto demoralizing both

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 17T

to the doctor and to the patient ; and if there be
any place for the female physician, it surely is
within the domain of this especial branch of the
healing art. These may be heterodox views, but
they are nevertheless honest ones.

But to return to Jobert. He was a curiosity in
every respect ; he believed that he was the greatest
of living surgeons, and he did not hesitate to say
so on all occasions.

He never appeared before his class without hav-
ing his hair elaborately dressed, curled and per-
fumed ; while he arrayed his person in gorgeous
apparel, covered his fingers with the choicest rings,
and wore in his scarf a diamond of great value ;
and, yet, with all these peculiarities, he lectured
well and operated magnificently. Of the number
of cervical canals which were occluded by his in-
strumentality I am unable to form a proper esti-
mate, but I am convinced that there were enough
of them to seriously interfere with the po23ulation
of Paris. Those hot irons of his cost France many
a good soldier.

An old friend, Mr. J. Little Smith, of Mobile,
Ala. — a scholar and a gentleman — with his young
and charming wife, then resided in Paris, and their
house was the home of a never-failing hospitality.
Many a pleasant hour did I spend with them in
the Rue Florentin, listening to the madam's superb
voice, or ''tripping the light fantastic" with fair
country women or enjoying their sumptuous
" spreads " or talking about old times and mutual
friends in Carolina. They were to have a ball on
a certain occasion, and I had promised to attend.
Indeed, I was looking forward to the entertain-
ment with great pleasure, the more so as I had en-
gaged to dance the first quadrille with a beautiful
girl from the South. The evening arrived, and I
12

178 A doctor's experiences

hailed it with delight. Having visited the harber^,
and had him exhaust his skill upon me, I returned
home and commenced my toilet, filled with pleas-
urable anticipations and resolved upon looking my
best. When about half dressed I pulled out the
drawers in which my " Sunday clothes " had been
carefully put away — found it empty. Further in--
vestigations showed that my entire wardrobe had
been appropriated by some adroit thief, who had
entered the room during my absence and had
" swept the platter clean." You can imagine my
disgust and indignation, for, independent of the
disappointment of the evening, the pecuniary loss
was considerable, and my expected remittance had
not been calculated upon the basis of such an ex-
penditure as this robbery entailed. Nothing re-
mained but to dispatch a hurried note explaining
my absence to my friends, and to send for the police-
and ask their aid in the apprehension of the thief.

Mr. Smith, with characteristic kindness, called
early the next day to offer his sympathy and assist-
ance, but the authorities did nothing save shrug-
their shoulders and take an inventory of the lost
property — which surprised me greatly, as I had
always heard that the police of Paris w^as the best
in the w^orld. I never recovered anything, though
I felt sure of my ability to place my hand upon
the thief at any time, as he was a member of the
household.

This was the beginning of my know^led-e of the
indifference — to use no stronger term — with which
the French people regard all foreigners, and es-
pecially those w^ho speak the English language.

In connection with great crimes and political
offenses the authorities frequently display much
energy and sagacity, but they trouble themselves
very little when aliens demand their assistance or
protection.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 179

LETTER XL

RETUKN TO EDENTON.

My Dear Doctor :

Shortly after the incident related in my last let-
ter, an American, with whom I had been acquainted
for several years, invited me to accompany him to
Italy, proposing to defray the necessary expenses
of the trip. As his health was poor and he really
required professional attention, I accepted his offer,
though I soon had occasion to regret having done
so, as he was both ill-natured and parsimonious, and
we soon parted company by mutual consent. 8ome
months afterward, when he was arranging his af-
fairs preliminary to a final departure, he addressed
me a letter, claiming that I owed him more tlian
a hundred dollars, the amount which he had ex-
pended for my traveling expenses. This meanness
was, nevertheless, surpassed by that of two Ameri-
can women, mother and daughter, with whom I
was thrown during my residence in Paris. As the
health of the younger was poor I was constantly
appealed to for j)rofessional advice, and as I refused
compensation they invited me several times to dine
with them. You can judge of my astonishment
when I received a bill from, their boarding-house
keej)er for the dinners which I had taken as their
guest. On inquiry I found that he had charged
these extra meals to them, but, at their suggestion,
had withdrawn the items from their bill, and had
held me responsible. Of course, I paid the sum

180 A doctor's experiences

demanded, but it is the conviction of a lifetime
that for consummate meanness and unhlushino:
impudence this travesty upon the laws of hospital-
ity excelled anything that I have ever known or
lieard of.

I will not go into the details of this trip to Italy,
although there was born of it a love scrape — which
was characterized by many moving incidents and a
strange conclusion — as the ground traveled over is
familiar to nearly every one, and as I should have
to "stir up the ashes of the past" in a way which
would be agreeable neither to myself nor to my
sweet-heart, although she is a grandmother.

1 returned home on the steamer " North Star,"
the once famous Vanderbilt yacht, sailing from
Havre early in May, and making the passage in
about ten days.

The voyage was tempestuous, but without inci-
dent, and my fellow passengers generally im-
pressed me so little that I have forgotten the names
of all save two of them — Dr. Samuel Green, of
Boston, and Miss Stevens, of Hoboken.

Dr. Green had been studying medicine abroad,
and having frequently met in our tours of the hos-
pitals we soon became fast friends on ship-board.
Related to the Lawrences, a thorough gentleman,
and an accomplished physician, he immediately
took a commanding position in his native State,
and has maintained it up to the present moment.
A few years since he was elected mayor of Boston,
almost by acclamation, and he still holds an im-
portant trust connected with its public charities.
He has always enjoyed the reputation of being an
unusually upright and loyal man. During the war
he held a surgeon's commission in the United States
Army, and was stationed in the eastern section of
North Carolina, where, though we never met, we

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 181

were frequently in close propinquity, and were
constantly able to exchange messages of good will
and kind remembrance.

I take this occasion to say that the rancor en-
gendered by the contest did not find its way into
the hearts of the medical men engaged in it. They
never permitted themselves to discriminate between
the ^'gray" and the ''blue" when blood was flow-
ing and human life was at stake, but to all alike —
to friend and foe equally — they ministered to the
extent of their ability, and with the same measure
of sympathy and kindness. They never forgot
that they were brethren, bound together by the
ties and obligations of a noble profession ; and
whenever they were brought in contact, whether
under the friendly folds of a flag of truce or in the
bloody carnage of a battle-field, or 'mid the sicken-
ing horrors of the prison house, it was with bosoms
as full of kindly feelings and hands as ready to ren-
der a service as if no war-cloud enshrouded the
heavens.

It is a notable circumstance, also, that within
three months after the flag of the Confederacy was
folded at Appomattox, the i^merican Medical As-
sociation met in the city of Baltimore, with dele-
gates from every State in the Union, and held as
harmonious and fraternal a session as had ever been
known in its history. Thus it is that the physi-
cians of the country have been enabled, by their
inherent conservatism and their unfaltering devo-
tion to the principles of their profession, to do their
duty upon either side, uninfluenced by passion or by
prejudice, and to become the pioneers in the work
of a veritable reconstruction of the Union — the re-
vivication of sentiments of reciprocal love and con-
fidence between the alienated sections.

Miss Stevens was accompanied by her father, who

182 A doctor's experiences

was then an old man, and she had on board a pet
grey-hound which proved to be a very poor saikjr,
and the source of great solicitude to its fair mistress.
Some years afterward I met her at the Springs in
Virginia, whither she had gone with her husband,
Mr. Garnett, to passher ^' honej^-moon." Twenty
years later I was sent for in Cairo to attend a '' lady
at the Grand New Hotel," and, to my surprise, found
my quondam friend of the North Star and the White
Sulphur. Her first husband having died soon after
their marriage she had given her hand and her
fortune to a dilapidated rebel, Mr. H. P. C. Lewis,
of Virginia, a relative of General Lee, and one of
the most genial gentlemen whom I have ever
met. How small a place the world is after all !
How strange are the rencontres of life ! It seems to
me that if one could live long enough, he would
meet again with every one that he had seen before,
especially if he lived in Paris.

There was great anxiety among the passengers
to see the American papers, and to learn the result
of the election, for Mr. Wise had just made his
celebrated canvass against the Know-Nothing party,
and it was impossible not to feel an interest in its
result.

His election to the office of Governor of his native
State proved the death-blow of the so-called Ameri-
can party, and produced a profound sensation
throughout the country. That party originated in
the natural apprehension of the foreign element as a
controlling power in our elections, and the possible
destruction of republican institutions through its
instrumentality ; and for some time it swept every-
thing before it, and threatened the annihilation of
all other political organizations. But though it
had in view a legitimate object — the retention of
political power in thehands of native-born citizens — •

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 183

its antagonism to religious freedom and its appeal
to secret combinations as a means of success event-
ually wrought its destruction. Wise was a man of
vehement passions, of great energy of character, of
chivalrous courage, and of wonderful eloquence,
and inspired by the desperate condition of his
own party, the assault upon that liberty of con-
science which the Constitution guaranteed, and the
resort to oath-bound societies as a means of domi-
nation, he inaugurated a crusade against Know-
iiothingism which, for the virulence displayed on
the one side and the rancor engendered on the
other, has never had its equal in political warfare.
His success made him the hero of the hour, and
he has ever since been canonized by the Democratic
party as a saint and savior. Strange to relate,
though devoted to the South, and ready, as the
sequel proved, to shed his blood and to sacrifice
his children in its behalf, he was not an '^ original
secessionist." He advocated.war on the part of his
section, but his idea was that, instead of attempt-
ing to establish an independent government, it
should march to Washington, raise ^' the stars and
stripes" upon the National Capitol, and say to the
people of the country : '' We will submit to insult
and aggression no longer, but we are resolved to
maintain our rights in the Union and under the a^gis
of the Constitution. We desire nothing that is not
just and right and legal ; and we call upon every
patriot and honest-minded man, whatever his place
of birth or his party affiliation, to come to our aid
and to help us restore and perpetuate the govern-
ment of our fathers," or language to the same effect.
To my mind, there was embodied in this proposition
more of true statesmanship, of real sagacity and of
knowledge of the American people than was dis-
played by all of our public men combined, for had

184 A doctor's experiences

it been carried out, the great rallying cry of '^ pro-
tection to the old flag," by which the heart of the
great North was fired and its people united in.
solid phalanx against us, would never have been
heard ; and although there might have been a war.
and a bloody one, it would soon have terminated,
without leaving the entire South in tears and ashes.

As I passed through Norfolk and Portsmouth en
route to Carolina I was struck by their appearance of
prosperity and by the beauty of their situation and
surroundings, little dreaming how soon they were
to become the scene of a great disaster and a general
mourning.

Shortly afterward they were visited by a fearful
epidemic of yellow fever. Both places soon be-
came scenes of death and desolation — more than two
thousand persons succumbed to the malady ; their
people, utterly panic-stricken, fled in every possi-
ble direction ; all business was suspended, and only
a voice of wailing was heard in the deserted streets ;
and yet not a physician proved recreant or showed
a craven spirit, but, on the contrary, each deter-
mined deliberatelj^ to die rather than to leave his
post, to do his duty without hesitancy and mur-
muring, and to let the result take care of itself. It
was in response to the suggestions of such a spirit
as this that a ''committee of relief " was organ-
ized, having for its objects the nursing of the sick,
the burial of the dead, the care of the homeless
orphans^ the collection of funds and provisions for
the destitute, and the supply of additional physi-
cians to take the place of those who fell victims ta
the disease.

Upon the list of those who responded to this ap-
peal for assistance I am proud to find your hon-
ored name ; and, in my judgment, in exposing
yourself to the terrors of this virulent pestilence^

JOHN MORIilS, M. I),

IN THREE CONTINENTS. - 185

in raising aloft the banner of the profession and
carrying it into the very jaws of death, you deserve
a meed of praise compared with which the Victoria
Cross and ribbon of the Legion of Honor should
count as empty baubles. When a soldier takes his
life in his hands and charges with the forlorn hope
into the deadly breach, enthused by the gaudia
certaminis and all the inspiring entourage of the
battle-field, he is crowned with laurels, surfeited
with praise, and chronicled as a hero and a mar-
tyr. But how much more deserving of honor and
remembrance is the physician who, having nothing
to inspire or to sustain him but a sense of duty
and the approval of his conscience — without the
expectation of reward, and with the prospect of an
inevitable death — deliberately surrenders his prac-
tice, bids adieu to his friends^, and takes his place
in the already decimated ranks of those who are
fighting some death-dealing epidemic? And yet
the world worships the soldier and forgets the doc-
tor, or rather, it regards the heroism of the one
as sublime, and it takes that of the other as a mat-
ter of course. How many people in Baltimore can
you name who remember this unselfish and courage-
ous sacrifice of yourself to the cause of science and
humanity ? I have often heard you spoken of as
a man of talent, integrity, kindness of heart, and
geniality of disposition, but I scarcely ever heard a
reference made to that for which you deserve a
monument — your voluntary services to the sick and
dying citizens of Norfolk and Portsmouth. Such
is the world, my friend, and if there were not a
faithful record kept elsewhere of every noble im-
pulse and heroic deed, life would be as valueless as
a discarded oyster-shell, and as uninteresting as a
picnic on the banks of the Lena.

Quite a number of refugees came to Edenton,

186 A doctor's experiexces

aiid, though they brought disease and consterna-
tion with them, they received a cordial welcome ;
for Southern hospitality in those days was some-
thing to be proud of and depended upon. In this
instance virtue had its reward, for the disease con-
fined itself to those who had already been exposed
to the epidemic influence.

It was thus that I became acquainted with yellow
fever, and had an opportunity of studying its clini-
cal history, with the results of arriving at the fol-
lowing conclusions respecting it :

1. That the disease is of foreign origin and was
imported.

2. That it spread from the point at which it was
landed until a definite area was invaded, including
the sites of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

3. That it developed and disseminated itself be-
cause it found at the point of debarkation, and within
the limits mentioned, certain conditions — atmos-
pheric or systemic — favorable to the fructification
of the germs which give it vitality — the germs
themselves being of animal origin.

4. That, in addition to these conditions, it found
itself surrounded and modified by the presence of
other germs of vegetable origin — those to which we
give the name of malaria.

5. That the disease when developed presented a
composite character, being made up of two classes
of phenomena — those due to the action of germs of
animal origin, and those due to the influence of
vegetable genesis.

6. That the specific, or animal germs, are inca-
pable of reproduction without the co-operation of
the special conditions already mentioned.

7. That the vegetable germs, or, in other words,
malaria, has no agency per se in the development
of the disease, but supplies the conditions for its

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 18T

production, and modifies it after it has been pro-
duced.

8. That while the rational treatment of the dis-
ease consists in sustaining the strength of the pa-
tient, and stimulating the secerning organs to a
more active performance of their functions, it is
also a matter of vital importance to neutralize or
to destroy the malarial elements and to counteract
their efi'ects upon the economy.

A number of physicians fell victims to the
epidemic, and among them were some of my col-
lege mates, notably Richard Sylvester and Junius
Briggs — two as splendid fellows as ever wrote M.
D. to their names.

They had just graduated, and had the most bril-
liant prospects before them, but when the visita-
tion came they remained faithfully at their posts
like good men and true physicians, and they died
there among the first victims of the epidemic.

Little did I think when I parted with them at
the University, with health glowing in their ruddy
cheeks and hope mirrored in their beaming eyes,
that cheerless graves awaited them at home, and
their names were so soon to be written upon the
records which medicine reserves for its heroes and
its martyrs. And yet their last hours weie cheered
by the reflection that they had made a good fight
in the cause of science and humanity, and that
though their careers were comparatively short not
a shadow of a stain had marred them.

As I look back and recall all that has passed
since then, especiall}^ the incidents connected with
those dark days when the hopes of their people
were crushed, and the land that they loved so well
was rifled and ruined, it is a question with me as
to who were the more fortunate, those who were
early called, or those who were left behind to drain

188 ^ A doctor's experiexces

the cup of sorrow and humiliation to the dregs? If
they did not live to taste the pleasures and to reap
the honors of life, they were at least saved its vexa-
tions and its vicissitudes, while, if faith has its
fruition and virtue its reward in the hetter land
beyond the tomb, they have not lost by the fate
which overtook them in the pride and promise of
their early manhood.

I found that my father's principal rival was a
certain Dr. P., who had been attracted to Edenton
by Dr. Wright's departure for Norfolk and my ab-
sence in Europe. He was a physician of little abil-
ity, but a man of great cunning. He knew, in
fact, all the tricks and dodges by which to secure
notoriety and to counterfeit success, and he most
industriously resorted to them. He rented the
most conspicuous pew in church, arrived always
at a late hour, and had himself called out before
the conclusion of the sermon. He purchased — on
credit — a splendid " turnout," and had it conspic-
uously brought to his door several times daily^
driving off as if summoned in hot haste to scores
of impatient or dying patients. He pretended to
a familiar correspondence with the leading medi-
cal men of the country, and habitually entertained
the audience of the streets corners with fictitious
letters, filled with fulsome compliments to him-
self. He magnified the simplest cases into the
gravest maladies, and claimed great credit for his
accurate diagnoses and his skillful cures. He af-
fected great interest in " scientific farming " — in
the application of ''chemical principles to the cul-
tivation of the soil," as he expressed it — and or-
ganized an Agricultural Society, before which he
delivered weekly lectures, interlarded with such
technical terms as his memory could retain^ and
replete with accounts of capital surgical opera-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 189

tions, happy hits in the treatment of disease, won-
derful discoveries of remedies and professional tri-
umphs generally — all culled from the field of his
imagination and planned to secure an ahundant
harvest of ''the needful." He dressed in a style
as unique as it was conspicuous, and such broad-
brimmed felts, long-tailed coats, expansive shirt
collars^ gaudy neckties, glistening patent-leathers^
and ponderous watch-chains never '^'cut a swell"
before or since, even in '' the land of Dixie." He
rushed madly into print on every possible occasion,
and our modest " weekly " fairly groaned under
the weight of his voluminous contributions on
medical topics, each copied verbatim from the text
books. And he grew so desperately intimate on
the shortest acquaintance, calling everybody by an
abbreviation of his Christian name, giving such
friendly slaps upon the shoulder by way of saluta;
tion,and proposing so constantly to "stand treat,"
that a stranger would have supposed he had been
raised in every family in the county and was the
blood relation of the whole community.

Seeing all this and knowing something of the
credulity of human nature, I began to regard him
as possibly a dangerous rival, and so remarked to
my father. The old gentleman, with a more pro-
found knowledge of mankind in general and of the
people around him in particular, only smiled when
I expressed my fears in this regard, and said in
reply to my expression of apprehension : " He is not
worthy of a thought. Give him rope enough and he
will hang himself. It is true that there is nothing
«o successful as success, but it must be a genuine
success ; and a shallow-pated and vulgar pretender
like P. is as sure to go to the wall as that the sun
shines. A small community is too inquisitive to
be deceived by any pretense of business, and the

190 A doctor's experiences

sheriff will sell him out before the end of the year^
or I am no judge of the situation." And so it
turned out. He who had gone up a rocket soon
came down a stich^ and there was a public " ven-
due" of his goods and chattels in a shorter time
even than my father had predicted. He seemed ta
take his discomfiture as if he were accustomed to
it, and started off to seek new fields of adventure,
arrayed in his marvelous get-u^^, and as jovial of
manner as if nothing had happened. Indeed, I
could not help admiring the perfect sang froicl
which he manifested in the hour of his defeat, and
I came to regard him in the light of a philosopher
as well as a fraud, if two such antipodal characters
can associate themselves in the same individual.
To give you a better idea of this man I will tell
you of a trick by whicb he victimized a friend on
the eve of his departure from Edenton. He had
been intimate with a young woman who was not
altogether a pattern of propriety, and a day or twa
before he wa-s to leave he received a letter from her
appealing to his paternal sentiments for assistance
and protection. Observing that the envelope
alone bore his address, and suspecting that a
young man of the town might be as culpable as
himself, he very quietly put the letter in another
envelope, and directing it in a disguised hand to
his friend, slipped off to parts unknown.

The bait took ; the girl accepted the unexpected
succor without explanation ; and twelve years after-
ward, to my certain knowledge, the aforesaid young
man was supporting P.'s gage d' amour, without a
suspicion of mistaken paternity or of the little
game by w^hich he had been so artfully victimized.

T have already mentioned the name of Dr.
Wright, and I have, indeed, a sad history to re-
late respecting him. He belonged to one of our

m THREE CONTINENTS. 191

best families, and he was pre-eminently a good
man and a thorough gentleman. Having studied
medicine with my father, practiced in association
with him, and lived as his friend and neighbor for
many years, the relations between them and their
families were of the most intimate character. In
1854 he removed to Norfolk, Virginia, v^here the
loyalty of his character, the amiability of his na-
ture, his thorough knowledge of medicine, and his
courage and devotion in the fever epidemic secured
him many warm friends and liberal patrons. He
had a lovely wife and a large family of sons and
daughters, who were singularly devoted to their
parents and to each other — constituting one of the
happiest home circles I ever knew. When forced by
impending hostilities to remove my wife and child
from Baltimore, I carried them as far as Norfolk on
their homew^ard journey, and stopped, for several
days at the Doctor's house. At that time, though
devoted to the South, he deprecated the war, expressed
his love for the Union, and still hoped that the wis-
dom and patriotism of the nation would assert
themselves before an issue was irretrievably made
between its sections. In a word, he spoke as a pa-
triot and not as a politician, giving expression to
the most liberal and fraternal sentiments, and
showing that his position was altogether a conser-
vative one. Little did I dream that the delightful
circle which I found beneath his hospitable roof —
a circle bound together by the cohesive power of
reciprocal admiration and affection — was so soon
to be broken up by the saddest circumstances that
the human mind can conceive of — the execution of
its cherished head upon the gallow^s, and the death
of the eldest son upon the field of battle.

Soon after the evacuation of Norfolk by the Con-
federate forces its citizens were astonished and hor-

192 'a doctor's experiexces

rifiecl by the organization of a militai\y company of
negroes, commanded by an officer of the United
States Army. The poor Doctorj in the excitement
of the moment as it passed him for the first
time, exclaimed, '^ How dastardly ! " and the cap-
tain having heard the remark^ turned upon him
with his drawn SAvord. At this critical moment
some friend thrust a pistol in his hand, with which
he killed his assailant. A trial by court-martial
was immediately held ; no extenuating circum-
stances were admitted ; and the simple fact that
an officer of the army had been slain by a rebel
sympathizer outweighed all other considerations ;
and tliis good man who had never entertained an
unkind thought toward a human being, and who
had only fired as a last resort when his life was in
jeopardy, was condemned to die the death of a
felon, and was actually hung despite the entreaties of
his wife and children, the appeals of his friends and
the protests of the Confederate authorities. On
the day preceding his execution his eldest daugh-
ter obtained permission to visit his cell^ and made
a desperate effort to rescue him. Enveloping him
in her cloak and placing lier bonnet upon his head,
with its vail drooped over his face, she sent him
out of the prison by the route which she had en-
tered it, while she covered herself up in his vacant
bed, and awaited the result of her brave experi-
ment. It came near succeeding. It was the sen-
tinel at the last gate Avho recognized the boots of a
man as the disguised figure passed through it and
who arrested the fugitive just as he was on the point
of joining the friends vv^lio waited without to convey
him to a place of safety ; and the distracted daugh-
ter had only the mortification of seeing him brought
back in chains, and of hearing herself insulted as a
criminal for her sublime act of self-sacrifice and

•IN THREE CONTINENTS. 193

filial duty. On tlie succeeding day the gallows
did its cruel work, and he who deserved a hero's
recompense for a life consecrated to truth, honor,
justice and humanity, was foully murdered in the
name of the law, because, with a sword's point at
his heart, he had instinctively obeyed the voice of
manhood and of nature and had raised his hand in
defense of his life. There are many extreme things
which can be attributed to the passions excited by
a sanguinary war and pardoned accordingly ;. but for
this act of barbarity, this violation of every princi-
ple of justice, there can be found neither the
shadow of an excuse nor the semblance of a palli-
ation. It looms up, in fact, from the darkest page
in the history of the struggle as the most conspicu-
ous and the least pardonable of all the atrocities
committed on either side, and constitutes an eter-
nal reproach to humanity and to the civilization of
the century.

I have reason to believe that his final appeal to
the Executive of the nation failed to reach its des-
tination, and that upon the conscience of some un-
scrupulous subordinate rests the responsibility of
the consummation of this infamy. The man in
whose heart was conceived the heaven-inspired
sentiment embodied in the words: "with charity
for all and malice toward none," could no more
have consented to the cruel murder of this innocent
man — innocent because the act for which he suf-
fered was done without premeditation and in self-
defense — than he could have brought himself to
play the role of executioner on that memorable
morning when from the gallows at Norfolk an un-
sullied soul ascended to heaven, and the hang-
man's rope was made an instrument for the mar-
tyrdom of a gentleman, a Christian and a hero.
13

194 'a doctor's experiences

His eldest son, who had just attained his majority
and was the inheritor of all the virtues which
adorned his father's character, went into the fight
at Getty shurg, and is still among ^'the missing."
His body was never found, and nothing is known
respecting his fate save that he was seen to fall in
the fatal charge upon the heights.

I subsequently saw the wife and mother, upon
whom these terrible calamities had fallen, at Chapel
Hill — for she had been permitted to come into our
lines to seek the kindly offices of the friends of her
better days — and the sad picture which she pre-
sented is graven eternally upon my memory. I
found her sitting as upright as a statue, speechless^
tearless and immovable, the embodiment of the
profoundest sorrow and the uttermost despondency.
She seemed completely dazed, blighted and be-
numbed— like one whose soul had been translated
and whose body left behind with just corporeal
sense enough to perpetuate existence and to main-
tain identity. I had seen her when as a happy
bride she walked down the aisle of old St. Paul's,
leaning upon the arm of her loving husband, fol-
lowed by troops of admiring friends, and dreaming
of a future canopied by naught but sunbeams ; I
had seen her again the proud mother of sons and
daughters of beauty, the mistress of a household
within which love and happiness reigned supreme,
and the object of the respect and the admiration of
a whole community ; and when I beheld her as she
appeared at Chapel Hill, the personification of suf-
fering and the illustration of despair, the contrast
struck so deeply into my soul that, forgetting my
manhood, I burst into tears and wept like some
broken-hearted child upon her shoulder. What a
blessed thing are tears, and what a dreadful ca-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 195

lamity it was to this poor woman that she could
not shed them ! Her children married well, and
are happy, for time brings its consolation to the
young even if it opens wider and extends deeper
the wounds which maturer hearts have received.

196 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XII.

COMMENCE LIFE IN EARNEST.

My Dear Doctor :

Immediately on my return to Edenton my father
made me a copartner in his business, and I went
regularly to work. This did not mean child's play,
as his practice extended over several counties, and it
required six horses to do that portion of it which
could be reached on land. He had also a number of
patients who were only accessible by water, and
many a thrilting adventure did I have while cross-
ing the sounds and rivers in the '^dug-outs"
deculiar to that section.

Mr. Josiah Collins, who lived on Lake Scupper-
nong, in Washington County, regularly employed
us, and to reach his house the sound had to be
crossed and a journey of thirty-five miles made by
land. This gentleman and his place require more
than a passing notice, as he was an extraordinary
man, and it was one of the most beautiful estates
in the South.

His grandfather came from England at an early
period in the history of the Colonies and settled at
Edenton, where by his intelligence, energy and
character he acquired a princely fortune and left
an honored name. The son who succeeded him
was a fit representative of his father, and having
married a lady belonging to one of the best families
of New Berne, he raised a large family of children,
each one of whom possessed remarkable gifts of mind

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 197

and person. The ladies of the family were especi-
ally distinguished for their beauty, their intelli-
gence and their accomplishments, while their house
was the center of society for that section of the
State — and a more delightful and hospitable one
can not be conceived of. As they regularly visited
the principal cities and watering-places, and had
in addition to their charm of person and character
large fortunes in their own right, they were the
greatest belles in that part of the country. They
had, in fact, many offers of marriage, and it was a
rare thing for the town not to have as a visitor some
stranger of distinction who was seeking to ally
himself with that family. The fortunate suitors
were the Hon. William B. Shepard, Dr. Matthew
Page, Dr. Thomas A. Harrison and Dr. Thomas
D. Warren, the latter being a near relative of my
father.

The sons were also splendid types of humanity,
possessing fine physiques and good minds improved
by excellent educations.

Hugh W. Collins, the second son, stood six feet
and two inches in his stockings, and though of hercu-
lean proportions his figure was symmetrical and his
carriage remarkably graceful. He had besides an
exceedingly handsome and attractive face, with
regular features, .soft blue eyes, and a smile of
peculiar fascination, while his head was of faultless
development, covered with a profusion of sunny
curls, and sat on his shoulders like that of an
Apollo. Though he was as lavish with his means
as a prince, as gentle in nature as a girl, and as
gay of spirits as a bird, he was brave to rashness,
and as chivalrous as any Plumed Knight. He ex-
celled in everything. He was the strongest man,
the best horseman, the deadliest shot, the finest
boxer, the fleetest skater, the greatest beau, and the

198 A doctor's experiences

most eloquent speaker in his section. His memory,
also, was something phenomenal, retaining every-
thing with absolute fidelity, and rendering him a
perfect encyclopedia. Nature, in truth, had been
lavish with him, and having in his early days ap-
preciated her bounty, he grew up a second Crich-
ton :

" A combination and a form indeed,
AVhere every god did seem to set his seal,
To give the world assurance of a man."

And yet with all this promise and these splendid
gifts he never rose to be more than a member of
the legislature, and he died at a comparatively
early age, with but a modicum of fame and an estate
in ruins. His manhood was consecrated to great
intentions — to dreams which loere to he realized ;
his generosity was abused by friends who lived
upon his bounty and made returns only in promises ;
his geniality but served to cripple his talents and
to destroy his health, and his career, which ought
to have been as refulgent as the march of the sun,
was simply dazzling like the flight of a meteor.

He died in 1854 in the old mansion at Edenton,
of dropsy resulting from cirrhosis of the liver; and
as I saw his magnificent frame and his splendid
intellect succumb to the King of Terrors, I could
but reflect upon the insignificance of humanity and
learn a lesson of humility which I have never for-
gotten.

Josiah Collins, the eldest son, though totally
different from his brother, possessed many remark-
able traits of character. He was a man of high
principles, brilliant intellect, great kindness of
heart, and extraordinary capacity for business, but
the predominating trait in his character was pride.
The senior member of the family, and having im-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. \ 199

bibecl his father's English ideas and convictions,
he regarded himself as the representative of every
excellence which appertained to it. He esteemed
his blood the bluest, his opinions the wisest, his
tastes the truest, and everything identified with
Jdm the most perfect that the world contained.
He was an autocrat with a will as imperious and a
sway as absolute as the Czar himself; but, though
impatient and arbitrary when antagonized, he was
the soul of courtesy, amiability and kindness when
unopposed. Indeed, sUch a fascination of manner,
€ourtliness of bearing, fluency in conversation, fa-
cility of adaptation to circumstances and geniality
of disposition as he could display I have never seen
united in the same individual.

Somerset Place, as he designated his homo, was
a most elegant and charming establishment. The
house was of modern construction and arranged
with special reference to the comfort of its inmates.
It was filled with costly furniture, interesting
books, beautiful plate and treasures of art; sur-
rounded by stately oaks and cypresses, and with a
beautiful lawn on the one side and a spacious gar-
den on the other. It was built immediately upon
the shore of Lake Scuppernong, a beautiful sheet
of water more than twenty-five miles in circumfer-
ence and connected with the river of the same name
by a canal of Mr. Collins' own construction. The
farm, embracing several thousand acres of arable
land, which had gradually been reclaimed and
brought into cultivation, was as rich as the Delta
and yielded annually a princely income. There
were about three hundred negroes on the place,
who were in. a state of perfect discipline, while the
greatest attention was paid to their comfort, health
and general welfare, including their spiritual con-
dition, for their owner was a staunch churchman,

200 A doctor's experiexces

and maintained a chapel and chaplain at his owd
expense. Indeed^ it was a constant source of in-
terest to see the negroes flocking to church on
Sundays, participating in the services — for they
knew every word of the "prayer-book" — and par-
taking of the holy communion at the same table
with their master and the members of his family.
In my early days there were still living several
old men who were known as ''Guinea negroes,"
being the remnants of the cargoes of African slaves
which certain enterprising ■ New England traders-
had brought into those waters and sold at hand-
some prices to the neighboring planters. These
antiquated darkeys spoke a sort of gibberish, which
was a medley of their original dialect and the
English language, and to me was perfectly unin-
telligible. They retained all of their original
fetich superstitions and were as uncivilized,
even in their old age, as when they roamed in
youthful freedom among the jungles of the dark
continent. The negroes, generally, on this estate
were of a peculiar type — a people sui generis.
Having descended from ancestors who were orig-
inally kidnapped in Africa, and never having been
brought into relations with other representatives
of their race, they had retained many of the ideas
and traditions of their native land. Though ram-
pant Christians, with "the service" upon the tips
of their tongues, they still had faith in evil genii,
charms, philters, metempsychosis^ etc., and they
habitually indulged in an infinitude of cabal-
istic rites and ceremonies, in which the gizzards of
chickens, the livers of dogs, the heads of snakes
and the tails of lizards played a mysterious but
very conspicuous part.

One of their customs was playing at what they
called "John Koonering," though this was more

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 201

of a fa7itasia than a religious demonstration ; that
it had, however, some connection with their relig-
ion is evident from the fact that they only in-
dulged in it on Christian festivals, notahly on
Christmas day. The leading character is the
*' ragman/' whose " get-up " consists in a costume
of rags, so arranged that one end of each hangs
loose and dangles; two great ox horns, attached to
the skin of a raccoon, which is drawn over the
head and face, leaving apertures only for the eyes
and mouth ; sandals of the skin of some wild
'' varmint;" several cow or sheep bells or strings
of dried goats' horns hanging about their shoul-
ders, and so arranged as to jingle at every move-
ment; and a short stick of seasoned w^ood, carried
in his hands.

The second part is taken by the best looking
darkey of the place, who wears no disguise^ but is
simply arrayed in what they call his '^Sunday-go-to-
meeting suit," and carries in his hand a small
bowl or tin cup, while the other parts are appro-
priated by some half a dozen fellows, each arrayed
fantastically in ribbons, rags, and feathers, and
bearing between them several so-called musical in-
struments or '' gumba boxes," which consist of
wooden frames covered over with tanned sheep-
skins. These are usually followed by a motley
crowd of all ages, dressed in their ordinary work-
ing clothes, which seemingly comes as a guard of
honor to the performers.

Having thus given you an idea of the characters
I will describe the performance as I first saw it at
the ''Lake." Coming up to the front door of the
" great house," the musicians commenced to beat
their gumba-boxes violently, while characters No.
1 and No. 2 entered upon a dance of the most ex-
traordinary character — a combination of bodily

202 A doctor's experiences

contortions, flings, kicks, gyrations, and antics of
every imaginable description, seemingly acting as
partners, and yet each trying to excel the other in
ithe variety and grotescjueness of his movements.
At the same time No. 2 led off with a song of a
^strange, monotonous cadence, which seemed ex-
temporized for the occasion, and to run somewhat
in this wise :

" My massa am a white man, juba !
Old missus am a lady, juba I
De children am de honey-pods, juba I juba !
Krismas come but once a year, juba I
Juba! juba! O, ye juba !

" De darkeys lubs de hoe-cake, juba !
Take de ' quarter' for to buy it, juba !
Fetch him lono-, you white folks, juba ! juba I
Krismas come Ijut once a year, juba I
Juba ! juba ! O, ye juba !"

wdiile the whole crowd joined in the chorus,
shouting and clapping their hands in the wildest
^\ee. After sino'inor a verse or two No. 2 moved
up to the master, with his hat in one hand and a
tin cup in the other, to receive the expected "quar-
ter," and, while making the lowest obeisance,
shouted: " May de good Lord bless old massa and
missus, and all de young massas, juba!" The "rag
man" during this part of the performance con-
tinued his dancing, singing at the top of his voice
the same refrain, and striking vigorously at the
crowd, as first one and then another of its mem-
bers attempted to tear off his " head gear" and to
reveal his identity. And then the expected "quar-
ter" having been jingled for some time in the tin cup,
the performers moved on to visit in turn the young
gentlemen's colony, the tutor's rooms, the par-
son's study, the overseer's house, and^ finally, the
quarters^ to wind up with a grand jollification, in

m THREE CONTINENTS. 203

which all took part until they broke down and
gave it up from sheer exhaustion. Except at the
'' Lake" and in Edenton, where it originated with
the Collins' negroes, I never witnessed this per-
formance in America, and I was convinced from
the first that it was of foreign origin, based on
:some festive ceremony which the negroes had in-
herited from their African ancestors.

This opinion was fully confirmed during my
residence in Egpyt, for I found that the blacks in
that country amuse themselves at By ram — the
principal feast of the Koran — with a performance
absolutely identical with that which I had seen in
Carolina, save in the words of their ^' Kooner"
song.

I also met there the exact counterpart of the old
^' Guinea negroes" of the Lake, and I was glad to
see them again, as they served to revive the inci-
dents and associations of younger and happier days.

Mr. Collins was pre-eminently a social man, and
it was the delight of his heart to have his house
filled with guests, and to devote himself to their
entertainment. I scarcely ever visited the "Lake"
without finding a large company assembled there,
having as good a time as it is possible to conceive
of. Such a host of servants, horses, carriages,
games, boats, guns, accouterments, musical instru-
ments, and appliances generally for interesting and
entertaining people, I never saw collected together.
His table also was a most sumptuous one. It
groaned in fact beneath the load of every delicacy
that taste could suggest, and such triumphs of the
culinary art as were only possible to the well-
trained darkey cooks with which his kitchen was
crowded, while wines of the most ancient vintage
and liquors of the choicest brand flowed around it
like water from some exhaustless spring. His

204 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

bearing under his own roof stamped him at once as
a gentleman, for his greeting had in it a tone of
sincerity that was simply delightful, while his hos-
pitality possessed a spontaniety and a comprehen-
siveness which instinctively captivated every heart.

I regret to tell you that the war which he had
advocated with such vehemence and deemed so-
necessary for the vindication of Southern honor
and the maintenance of Southern institutions-
proved utterly disastrous to him. It drove him
from his beautiful home ; it ruined his magnifi-
cent estate ; it scattered his well- trained servants ;
it sent his beloved sons to the battle-field, and it
consigned him prematurely to the grave, a broken-
hearted and an impoverished man. He had his
faults, for he was of a proud nature, and a domi-
neering spirit, oversatisfied with himself and im-
patient in the face of opposition ; but his virtues
far outweighed his failings, and a braver, nobler
and more magnificent type of humanity has seldorn
walked among men in any land or time. This may
seem a fulsome eulogium to those who had no per-
sonal acquaintance with this extraordinary man.
but it will be recognized as a true portrait and an.
honest statement by his friends aod contemporaries.

My father was the intimate friend and the trusted
physician of this family for nearly fifty years, and
he has often told me that they were the best people
he ever knew. They w^ere certainly the most gen-
erous patrons that a medical man wa's ever blessed
with, for their first thought when sickness occurred
was to send for their doctor, and they were ever
ready to remunerate him wath an open hand_,
whether the service was rendered to themselves or
to the humblest of their slaves.

In the year 1856 I determined to compete for the
''Fisk Fund Prize/' which was offered by the

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 205

Medical Society of Rhode Island for the best essay
on the subject of '^ The effect of pregnancy on the
development and march of the tuberculosis."
Having devoted myself to intense study of the sub-
ject for two months, I sat down to the preparation
of my thesis and completed it in three weeks, mak-
ing, as I thought, a strong argument in favor of
the proposition : that the disease is, as a rule, re-
tarded during gestation^ and supporting it by many
reliable authorities, especially of the French school.
I was careful to have it mailed in the city of Balti-
more, fearing, as I had no personal knowledge of
the members of the commission by which it was to
be judged, that the post-mark of so insignificant
a village as Edenton might prejudice my chances
■of success. After waiting at least three months in
a fever of suspense for the decision, and when al-
most in despair of a favorable result, I was grati-
fied by the arrival of a letter bearing the Provi-
dence post-mark, and containing a notification that
the prize had been awarded to me, with a check
for the amount to which that result entitled the
successful competitor. The pleasure which this
award afforded my father, and the pride with
which he announced it to his friends, recompensed
me a thousand fold more than the money received,
which, by the way, I invesed in the silver pitcher
and salver out of which we so often drank " claret-
cup " together in other days, and which mf chil-
dren still class among their treasures. This suc-
cess helped me in every way. It stimulated my
energies ; it inspired me with confidence in myself,
and it gave me a good start as a medical man in
North Carolina.

The thesis was published in book form by the
society, and was for a long time popular with the
profession.

206 A doctor's EXPEIUEXCES

I also delivered the address before the State. Med-
ical Society that year, taking the ''Yellow Fever
Epidemic of Norfolk" as my theme, and dwelling
on the self-sacrificing spirit displayed in that re-
gard by the profession — little knowing that I should
subsecjuently become so warmly attached to one of
the heroes of that memorable visitation. This ad-
dress was w^ell received and was published by the
society, though I have not seen a copy of it in
twenty years at least. Some day I want you to
get a copy and read it carefully, so that you
may understand how well I thought of you before
I had the pleasure of your personal acquaintance.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 20T

LETTER XIII.

AT WOEK.

My Dear Doctor :

The wealthiest man in Chowan County at the
time was James C. Johnstone, Esq., who lived at a
beautiful place in immediate proximity to Edenton,
called Hayes. He was the son of Samuel John-
stone, who was born at Dundee, Scotland, in 1733.
and died in Chowan County in 1816, after a most
honorable career. As an evidence of his worth, I beg
to refer you to the distinguished positions to which
he was elevated during his long and honorable ca-
reer. He was one of the clerks of the Superior
Courts before the Revolution ; speaker of the Pro-
visional Congress of his State ; member of the Con-
tinental Congress ; Governor of North Carolina ;
president of the convention to consider the Con-
stitution ; Senator in the Congress of the United
States, and Judge of the Superior Court of North
Carolina. Wheeler says that ''he was mentally
and physically every inch a man. His intellect
was of the highest order, cultivated by learning and
experience. His person was imposing, of a large
and powerful frame, erect and stately in his car-
riage and of iron will. He joined the graces of a
scholar with the wisdom of the statesman." He
belonged to the junior or cadet branch of the family
of Annandale in the Peerage of Scotland, and he
was undoubtedly the rightful heir to the title and es-
tates which appertain to that house. His father
brouo;ht with him the materials for the construe-

208 A doctor's experiences

tion of the bouse at Hayes, with his family plate,
pictures and heirlooms, and having erected a mag-
nificent mansion, surrounded it with choice shrub-
bery, elaborate gardens, a spacious park, and all
the attractions that taste could suggest, left it
as a legacy to his children.

His son, James Cathcartj inherited his talents,
tastes, and character, but not his ambition nor his
love for public life. On the contrary^ he was
singularly retiring in his disposition, and for the
greater portion of his life he devoted himself to the
management of his estates, to the gratification of
his taste for reading, and to the enjoyment of the so-
ciety of a i'ew chosen friends. Having been disap-
pointed in an early love affair, he never married,
and lived almost the life of a recluse, dividing his
time between his farms in Chowan, Pasquotank,
and Halifax. He was originally a man of aristo-
cratic appearance, of dignified bearing, and of
great rectitude of character. Being much grieved
b}^ the death of his two maiden sisters and depressed
by ill-health, he manifested in his later years symp-
toms of insanity ; and my father and I, who were
his regular medical attendants, seriously thought
at various times of placing him in an asylum.
As these attacks were not as a general rule of a
violent character — the exceptions being two at-
tempts at self-destruction and one at murder — and
were followed by long intervals of lucidity, we
failed to proceed to extremities and left him to the
care of his relations and attendants under his own
roof. Many an anxious hour have I spent in his
chamber, listening to his ravings respecting the
^'unpardonable sin" which he had committed, the
^'evil spirits" by which he was pursued, the '"poor-
house" in which he was to spend his latter days,
and the thousand illusions which crowded his dis-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 209

ordered brain. And yet, after having spent weeks
in a state of wild delirium and of constant insomnia,
I have seen him suddenly return to reason, and
resume his wonted dignity of manner, lucidity of
intellect, ease of conversation, and placidity of coun-
tenance, just as if nothingunusual had occurred. As
the secret of his insanity was carefully guarded by
those around him, and as he was seen by the pub-
lic— including those who regarded themselves as
his intimate friends — only when he was in his
right mind, the community received with in-
€redulity the story of his insanity when it eventu-
ally became necessary to proclaim it. But of this
anon.

The rector of old St. Paul's, at Edenton, the
Bev. Samuel Iredell Johnstone, was the most es-
teemed of his relations and the most cherished of
his friends. That gentleman was the son of John
Johnstone, the Surveyor-General of North Caro-
lina in colonial days, and a member of the State
Senate afterward. He graduated at Chapel Hill
in the class of 1826, studied law, and subsequ^itly
abandoned that profession to enter the ministry of
the Episcopal church. In the pulpit he was noted
for the force of his logic and the fervor of his elo-
quence, while out of it he was distinguished for
his zeal and consistency as a Christian, and for his
loyalty, honesty and guilelessness as a man.

He was in all respects a model pastor, illustrat-
ing alike by precept and example the truth, beauty
and excellence of the faith which he professed, de-
vot^^ing himself with unfaltering fidelity to the wel-
fare of his flock, and leading a life of perfect holi-
ness and sanctity.

He was emphatically the friend of the poor and
the suffering, visiting them, ministering to them,
and lavishing his sympathy and means upon them
14

210 'A doctor's experiexces

as if they were allied to him by the ties of blood.
He was, in truth, the very impersonation of every
virtue that gives beauty and dignity to the human
character, and he was worshi}3ed as a saint — as
something above and beyond common humanity —
by all who knew him, and especially by the church
which he so honored by the purity of his life and
the brilliancy of his ministry.

His death was regarded as a public calamity by
those among whom he had lived and ministered,
and though some of those upon whom he had lav-
ished kindnesses turned upon him in the day of
his adversity, not an eye refused its tears nor a
heart its sympathy as his remains w^ere borne to.
the old family graveyard at Hayes to be deposited
amid the ashes of his honored ancestors. DesjDite
the promptings of self-interest, every man in the
community realized that day that he had lost a
friend, a brother and a benefactor.

He married Margaret, the second daughter of
George Burgwyn, of "The Hermitage," in New
Haiaover County, and the niece of Judge Nash,
the Chief-Justice of North Carolina, by whom he
had a large family of children. Of these, James,
the eldest — and the rightful heir of the Earldom of
Annandale — was adopted by Mr. James C. John-
stone at an early age, and was educated as the
^prospective heir^ of the principal 23ortion of his
property. He married my second sister, Kate Har-
ris, and resided for many years at Hayes, which
Mr. James Johnstone abandoned to them, remov-
ing to his seat in Pasquotank County.

Mr. Samuel Johnstone's second daughter, Eliza-
beth Cotton, was just budding into w^omanhood,
and by common consent she was recognized as the
beauty and the heJle of that section. Tall, slender,
and graceful, with eyes as dark as the night, a

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 211"

profusion of curls with whicli the sheen of the morn-
ing was blended, and a face softened and illumi-
nated like that of a Madonna, she seemed to me-
the perfection of loveliness. And when I found her
heart the home of every kind and tender and gen-
erous sentiment, and her mind as clear as the cur-
rent of some mountain stream and as bright as the
star of the evening, my admiration transformed itself
into worship, and that became idolatry. I loved her
with all the fervor of which my nature was capable —
with the strongest, truest, deepest passion that my
soul could formulate — and compared with which
all that I had ever experienced was as a dew-drop
to the ocean, as a child's whisper to the tornado's
breath. But how to woo her was the question. I
was many years her senior, and as compared with
the young men who surrounded her, a veritable
patriarch. My prospects therefore seemed desper-
ate in the premises — sufficiently so certainly ta
have discouraged a majority of men, but the very
desperation of the situation served to inspire me
with a deeper love and a stronger purpose. Intel-
lect, will, energy, and every faculty which entered
into my being seemed to develop, expand, and
strengthen under the influence of the intense pas-
sion which possessed me, and I entered the field
resolved on victory, without regard to difficulties
and in defiance of fate itself. I soon made it pa-
tent to my mocking rivals that an earnest man un-
der the spell of the grand passion and the domina-
tion of an imperious will is an adversary such as
none can afford to despise. I attacked the dear
girl's heart with such desperate vigor as to
convince her that she had, indeed, a serious lover
to deal with, and to induce her to make an attempt
to restrain my feelings and to save me from their
consequences by the confession of her engagement

212 A DOCTOR "S EXPERIEXCES

to another. And yet, in the very considerateness
of this avowal, and in the tearful eyes and the
trernhling accents with which it was made, I dis-
•cerned, or believed I did, a glimmer of regret — a
flicker of sympathy — which was to my heart what
Ihe blazing fire is to the wanderer amid the Arctic
•snows, and the cooling spring to the traveler in the
desert sands.

Instead of restraining me^ it only developed a
fresher courage and a more desperate energ3^ So far
from "saving me from myself," it but bound m}^ soul
with stronger fetters, and consigned it to a more
hopeless servitude. Though thus forbidden to
speak of love and to plead mj cause, my passion
found utterance in my every tone and look and
gesture, and spoke for itself in the consecration of
my life to this single aim and aspiration. Finally
my lady love's fiance, whose military duties had
hitherto confined him to the plains, suddenly ap-
23eared upon the scene, having come to settle upon
the wedding day. He had naturally expected to
have a good time in Edenton, never dreaming of
finding a lion in his path, or that the field was
aught else than his exclusive property.

It so happened that I was out walking with her
when she received the intelligence of his arrival,
and I saw that she blanched, reeled, and came near
fainting in my arms. Thus inspired by her pale
cheeks and tearful eyes and trembling frame, I
•opened the flood gates of my soul and told her of
my great love, my supreme devotion, .my wild
idolatry, and implored her as she valued her own
happiness, and would save me from utter misery,
to break her engagement with him and to become
my wife. Her only answer, as we walked along,
was a flood of tears, and a succession of tremors,
which shook her frame as the whirlwind shakes the

IN THREE CONTLNENTS. 21 3^

aspen ; but when I left her at her father's door
she said in accents which to my ears were sweeter
than the songs of the angels : " Visit me as usual/'
I took her at her word, and not only visited her
'^ as usual," but every day while my rival remained
in Edenton, rendering him perfectly mad with
jealousy. I had already made an engagement to
ride with her on the succeeding day_, and at the
hour designated I was at her father's house ready
for the promenade ci clieval.

She was a splendid horsewoman, but hardly was
she in the sa_ddle before the horse, taking the bit
in his teeth, started off at a fearful speed. My first
thought was to swoop by and rescue her by encir-
cling her with my right arm and lifting her from
her seat, but I soon found that her horse was
fleeter than mine, and that I could not overtake
her, though whip and spur were used unmercifully.
God alone will ever know the agony of my heart
as I saw her borne away while I was powerless to
assist her, and either severe injury or instant death
seemed inevitable. Suddenly a manly form dashed
from the side-walk, and a strong arm seized the
bridle and threw the horse back upon his haunches,
while she sprang lithely and unhurt to the ground^
her face radiant with smiles of gratitude to her
gallant rescuer, who proved to be her suitor and my
rival. In the excitement of the moment I sprang-
from my horse, threw my arms around his neck
and overwhelmed him with thanks and congratu-
lations.

As she was unhurt and undaunted, we exchanged
horses and rode quietly back to her father's house,
before which the whole family — including the in-
dignant lover — was assembled in a state of intense
excitement and anxiety. Somehow, perhaps under
the tuition of the fiance, they seemed inclined to

214 A doctor's experiexces

hold me responsible for the contretemps, and the
scowls with which they greeted me went like dag-
gers through my heart. Perceiving the unkindness
of their reception and the hot flush which had con-
sequently mantled my cheeks, she broke out in
a ringing laugh, and said: '^Ob, I am not hurt
a bit, and the Doctor and T intend to take sl 'drive
-after all, for I can't stay indoors on such a beauti-
ful afternoon."' Taking tbe hint, and feeling that
her purpose was to defend me by thus showing ber
■confidence, I dasbed off, and returned in a sbort
time with my buggy and team, and despite pater-
nal protests and the angry looks of the lover, we
had the most delightful drive that can be conceived
of — though she did j)lace an embargo on my lips
-as regards the subject nearest to my heart.

Of course, I knew nothing of what was going on
between the twain at the time, tbough I could
plainly perceive that he was not happy and that
matters did not progress as he had hoped and ex-
l^ected. Fortunately for me his leave was brief,
and at the expiration of a week — which seemed an
age when counted by my heart throbs and appre-
hensions— he took his departure and I was again
master of the situation. Poor fellow ! He was
wounded at the head of his brigade in the battle
of Sharpsburg, and came to Kaleigh to die in the
arms of a doting wife, lamented by all who knew
him, but by no one more than the fair cousm whom
lie had loved so dearly in his younger days. As
we stood together over his open grave and saw his
remains lowered to their final resting-place, our
minds naturally traveled over the long road that
led back to the scenes which I have just recounted,
and as we thought of them and of all the strange
events which we had subsequently encountered to-
gether, though we did not love him the less, we

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 215

loved each other the more, and thanked God for
the choice which w'e had made and for the blessed
privilege of making it.

On the day after his departure I sought an in-
terview, and pleaded long and earnestly for a
favorable answer, but all in vain. ^' I shall never
marry. Dr. Warren, and this must end," were the
decisive words which sealed my fate for the time
being and made me the most miserable of men.
^' You must marry me and this cannot end," was
tbe only language that I could find with which to
give expression to my feelings as I took my de-
parture, greatly pained but more resolute of purpose
than ever. Shortly afterward Dr. Thomas D . Warren
gave a magnificent ball, which I attended,' with the
firm determination not to approach her, and to de-
vote myself to some other woman, hoping to excite
her jealousy and thus to further my aims. The mo-
ment, however, that she entered the room, radiant
^as she was in her matchless beauty, I forgot my
purpose, and breaking through the throng of young
men which surrounded her, I insisted upon the
privilege of dancing with her before she had had
time to make another engagement. She accepted
this proposition, and another for the succeeding
«et, and then another for a "^ walk on the piazza,"
listening all the time, and not unkindly, as I ridi-
culed her resistance to the inevitable, assured her
of my fixed purpose to make her mine, and whis-
pered the story of my love into her ears without
stint or interruption. This was one of the happi-
■est occasions of my life, for it was spent in her
society, and it resulted in the establishment of re-
lations between us which permitted me to plead
my cause at discretion, without going into a formal
courtship or making a definite issue. And so
things continued for several weeks, the barriers

216 A DOCTORS EXPERIEXCES

separating our souls breakinp: down with, each suc-
ceeding day ; a reciprocal interest and dependence
gradually developing between us, and the clouds
which had darkened the sky above us disappearing,
slowly, it might be, but sufficiently to afford
glimpses of the heaven beyond them. During the
whole of this time 1 never asked a question con-
cerning her engagement, but treated it as a thing
of the past. Finally, having grown impatient of
delay, and resolved to bring the matter to an issue,
I said to her one night, " I have a proposition to
make to you. You have rejected me many times,
and you will have to do so many more if things
go on in this way, and you are really in earnest in
declining me — which I cannot believe. Suppose
you try the experiment of an engagement for one
week, just to test the matter and to see whether
you would like it or not. I will give you my word
as a gentleman that it shall be kept a profound
secret and that I will release you at the end of the
time without feeling that you have compromised
yourself or have encouraged me in the least.

Her eyes sparkled, and with the merriest laugh
imaginable she answered: "Very well. But on
condition that you will not see me during the week,
and will take my answer at the end of that time as
a final one."

'" All right," said 1] " When I leave this house
to-night it will be to absent myself for an entire
week ; and I will take your answer as a final one
at the expiration of that time if it kills me, though
I shall continue to love you with all the fervor of
which my soul is capable while consciousness re-
mains."

''Then, o-ood niodit. Dr. Warren, and adieu
until next Sunday afternoon, when our engage-
ment will have ended and you can join me after

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 217

church to hear what I have to say. I shall have
at least one week" of repose, with no bouquets to
preserve and no cards of thanks to write — at least
to you."

'' But I have not gone yet, and we are actually
engaged — I mean for a week?"

"Yes, actually engaged — for a week. How do
you like it thus far?"

" Like it, my love, my darling, it is Heaven !"
and seizing her suddenly in my arms, I planted a
dozen burning kisses upon her virgin lips.

"What do you mean, sir/' she cried, as she
struggled to free herself from my embrace, only to
be held more tightly, and to be kissed more ardently
than before.

"Mean, my love! my angel? Are we not en-
gaged, and is not this one of the privileges of an
engaged man?"

She escaped from me by a violent effort, burst
into hysterical sobs, and flew from the room, while
I slipped out«of the front door and hurried home,
half dead between excitement at what had occurred
and terror for the consequences of my temerity.

For the entire week I remained in a state of the
greatest anxiety, expecting every moment to receive
either a hostile message from her brothers or a
letter of denunciation from her father, or a note of
indignant dismissal from herself, and yet hoping that
my presumption might be pardoned in view of the
desperate strait in which I was placed, and the high
stake for which I had played. •

On the succeeding Sunday afternoon I joined her
at the church door and walked with her over to
Hayes, and along the shore of the bay until we
reached a secluded spot which, with its grassy sward
and overhanging vines and perfume of jessamine,
seemed especially constructed for such a tryst as

218 A DOCTOR S EXPERIEXCES

ours, and which will live in raemm^y until the grass
has covered my grave.

" For there was I first truly blessed,
For there in ray fond arm I pressed,
My blushing Genevieve."

I cannot relate the incidents of that interview,
for they are sacred, but will only say that a revela-
tion was made in it which crowned with victory
the struggle of so many weeks and made me the
proudest and the happiest of men.

Though my desperate venture had amazed and
startled her immeasurably, it had awakened her to
the consciousness that her heart in its every atom
and pulsation was mine — absolutely and exclusively
mine. She had promptly rejected her lover, but he
had exacted a promise that she w^ould engage her-
self to no one for a year, and, restrained b}" a sense
of that obligation, she w^as in a maze of doubt and
uncertainty, from which nothing could have ex-
tracted her save the decisive measure which my
desperation had inspired as a crucial test of her
feelings and a final means of deciding my destiny.

We w^ere married on the 16th of November, 1857,
in old St. Paul's, surrounded by loving relations
and admiring friends, and with hearts aglow wdth
love and replete with happiness we set out upon
the voyage of live, dreaming only of sunny skies
and favoring breezes. How that dream was realized
the succeeding pages of these memoirs will disclose,
fox henceforth they become the record of our com-
mingled lives — the history of two existences
molded into one by the plastic power of reciprocal
affection and a common destiny.

After a brief visit to relatives in Virginia and
to friends in New York — where, by the way, we
met the aforsaid lover on his w^edding trip — we re-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 219

turned to Carolina and took up our residence at
Albania, a beautiful estate in the immediate vicinity
of Edenton. On the day previous to our marriage
J had been summoned to Hayes, and had received
from Mr. Johnstone deeds for Albania and a num-
ber of servants — including his best cook — and a
considerable sum of money, with the assurance
that his gift to my intended wife would be found
in his will, and that it was a handsome one.

220 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XIV.

THE WILL CASE.

My Dear Doctor :

The promised gift never came for reasons which
I will proceed to explain, although the relation of
the story fires my blood even at this distant day.

Mr. Johnstone, it is true, regarded secession as a
crime, but it was from a personal standpoint alone.
Always morbidly apprehensive of the ''poor-house,"
.he saw in the contest between the sections certain
l^ecuniary ruin for himself. There developed there-
fore from this morbid apprehension of poverty an
uncompromising hatred of all who had precipitated
the war, and who were taking part in it. In this
way he became alienated from his friends and fam-
ily connections, for though none of us were " ori-
ginal secessionists," we had entered the service
bij^the Confederacy so soon as North Carolinajoined
her fortunes with it and called her sons to arms.
He even permitted himself to hate his dearly loved
friend and relative, the rector, because several of
his sons had volunteered, and he had sought ref-
uge under the roof of one of them at Chapel Hill.
Under the influence of these feelings, his already
diseased brain lost its equilibrium, and insanity
manifested itself under the guise of a monomania
of furious hatred of his family. James, his adopted
son, who was living at Ha3^es, where Mr. John-
stone had sought refuge after the breaking out of
the war, and devoting himself with unfaltering as-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 221

siduity to the care of the old man, endeavored to
pacify and restrain him, hut only with the result
of falling equally under the ban of his displeasure,
as the sequel only too cruelly demonstrated.

Concealing his sentiments and purposes with
that refinement of cunning which so often charac-
terizes the insane, he invited my sister to the li-
brary, and, in the most friendly manner, proposed
a visit to her father at Lynchburg, Virginia, upon
the grounds of her delicate health, and of her
long separation fi'om her family. Suspecting no
€vil design, as their relations had always been
most cordial and confidential, the poor girl thanked
him kindly for his solicitude, and accepted his
seemingly considerate suggestion. It was there-
fore arranged that she and her children should set
out on the succeeding day for the nearest ferry on»
the Chowan, accompanied by her husband, who
was to return after having crossed the river with
his family.

Mr. Johnstone helped the mother and her little
flock into the carriage, kissed each one most affec-
tionately, begged them to return as soon as possi-
ble, and remained upon the portico waving his
handkerchief after them until they were out of
sight. In an hour afterward he ordered the farm
wagons to be brought to the house, had all of their
effects placed in them, hauled over to Edenton, and
pitched pell-mell into the street before the door of
my father's unoccupied house. At the same time
he dispatched a messenger with a note for James,
in which he disinherited the young man — the
adopted son whom he had raised so tenderly, and
professed to love so well — and declared that neither
he nor his wife nor their children should cross his
(Mr. Johnstone's) threshold again.' He then sent
to Raleigh and had removed from the vault of the

222 A doctor's experiences

bank there the will which he had previously made
in favor of his relatives, and destroyed it with
great parade of exaltation.

James immediately returned to Hayes, but was^
refused admittance. Mr. Samuel Johnstone sub-
sequently came to Edenton and sought an inter-
view, only to be treated with such indignity as to
send him in sorrow to his grave. My wife, who
had been from childhood the object of his special
love and admiration, sent him a kind message, to
which he returned no answer. In a word, without
the semblance of an excuse or the shadow of a justi-
fication, he persistently turned his back upon all
who were allied to him by ties of blood, and spent
the remainder of his days in reviling them and in
concocting a scheme for their humiliation and ruin.
, He then appeared in an entirely new role, mani-
festing a complete revolution in his sentiments and
deportment. He had been the most exclusive of
men, selecting his associates from the highest ranks
of society, and manifesting a specially dignified
and reserved manner. He now sought the associa-
tion of individuals beneath him in birth, educa-
tion, and position, and treated them as boon com-
panions and intimate friends.

He had plumed himself upon his own integrity,
and his ostracism of dishonest and unscrupulous
men. He made it a point to take into his confi-
dence, and to treat with marked consideration,
various persons for whose conduct and character he
had expressed disapprobation during his entire
life. He had manifested infinite respect for reli-
gion and a sincere attachment to the church. He
became an open blasphemer, ostentatiously proclaim-
ing his disbelief, and bitterly denouncing minis-
ters of the gospel and all who professed a respect
for them. He had been distinguished for the dig-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 223

nity of liis bearing, the modesty of his deportment,
the elegance of his dress and the refinement of
his language. He grew familiar, demonstrative
and slovenly, while his conversation assumed a
tone of positive vulgarity — coarse oaths and low
slang constituting its essential elements. For the
house which his father had built, under whose roof
he had been born and reared^ and in whose cham-
bers his sisters had lived and died, he had ever ex-
hibited a marked veneration . He made it the home of a
promiscuous hospitality, and the rendezvous of sub-
ordinates and inferiors. Apartments which had
been hallowed in his eyes by their associations with
those whom he honored and loved, and which had
been studiously closed for years, were thrown open
to hirelings and overseers ; heirlooms which had
been guarded with scrupulous vigilance were lav-
ished upon the " poor trash" which ministered to
his prejudices ; family jewels which had been
treasured with the fondest love and the greatest
sacredness were distributed among his newly-chosen
favorites ; and a table which had been honored by
the presence of governors, senators, judges, bish-
ops, professors, ministers, and others of pure blood
or good breeding or high position — the representa-
tives of the family or its friends and associates —
was daily prostituted to the entertainment of negro
drivers, tenants of the dependent farms, employes
about the premises, loafers from the adjacent town,
and the canaille of the neighborhood in general —
neither washed hands nor shodden feet nor clean
shirts nor coats of any description being de rig-
ueur. In a word, during the remainder of his days
the change in his ideas, habits, feelings and senti-
ments was as radical as the motive which he gave
for his aversion to his relatives was groundless,
insufficient and absurd.

224 A doctor's experiences

He died in 1865, and by his will lie bequeathed
his property principally to three persons, not one
of whom was allied to him by the ties of blood or
had the slightest claim upon his sentiments of
gratitude or his sense of obligation.

Though we were impoverished hj the war, and
but the representatives of prestige and tradition,
while our adversaries had already been made rich
by his bounty, we determined to contest the will at
all hazards and at any sacrifice.

The trial came off in the winter of 1866, and it
proved one of the most interesting and exciting
that had ever occurred in Carolina. The family
was represented by Graham, Bragg, Vance, Hin-
ton, and W. A. Moore, and the legatees by B. F.
Moore, Poole, Heathy and Winston, all men of
great ability, learning, and experience, and from
what I have learned — for I was not present — it was
veritably a warfare of giants.

It was incontestably established that Mr. John-
stone had for many years been subject to fits of
positive mania, which had become more frequent
and prolonged with his advancing age ; that he
had twice tried to take his own life, had once at-
tempted to commit murder ; that he had repeatedly
been found wandering about the plantation without
shoes, and clothed onh^ in his shirt ; that imme-
diately preceding the making of Ms will, and
afterward, there had appeared a complete revolu-
tion in his feelings, tastes, habits, and ideas, and
that the motive upon which his conduct to his rela-
tives was based — their alleged desertion of him on
the breaking out of the war — was absolutely false
and fallacious, such as could not have been accepted
as an incentive to action by a '' sound and dispos-
ing mind."

As regards this great question of motive, I must

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 225

pause to tell you that it was proved beyond perad-
venture that his relatives did not desert him, but
remained with him until he requested or forced
them to leave ; that they did not neglect him in
any sense or to the slightest extent, inasmuch as
■James Johnstone and his wife nursed him and min-
istered to him to the fullest extent of human capa-
bility so long as he permitted them to do so ; that
my wife had only just offered him an asylum un-
der my roof, which he had gratefully accepted ; that
they were not secessionists, for James continued an
unflinching Union man during the war, while the
•others were originally Whigs, and only entered
the Confederate service after the issue had been
made, and to avert the very calamities which Mr.
Johnstone apprehended.

Dr. William A. Hammond, the learned alienist,
was present at the trial, and after having heard
the evidence declared that the wilj was not the off-
spring of that union of intelligence and volition which
•constitutes sanity, but was the progeny of a veritable
monomania which had its origin in a delusion, and
was a phase of insanity of the most palpable and
decided character.

And yet, strange to relate, the verdict was un-
favorable to us, and its record was permitted though
it was manifestly against the evidence, and it con-
signed to ruin and dependence those who were
bound to him by ties of blood and of a life-long
friendship, and elevated to wealth and position three
persons who were not connected with him, and who
had no claims upon his bounty.

Independent of the pecuniary injury which this
judgment entailed upon the rector's family, the
moral effect was overwhelming. They had been
reared to regard Hayes with peculiar pride and af-
fection— to love it as the home of their ancestors
15

226 A doctor's experiences

and the scene of the happiest memories of their
chiklhood — and when they saw it adjudged to-
strangers, and its treasures of family- plate and
pictures and heirlooms surrendered to alien hands,,
their hearts were rifted to the core, and turning
their faces toward distant lands, they left the final
judgment to Him whom their father had taught
them to trust as a God of eternal truth and of
never-failing justice.

As the principal actors in this drama have long
since been judged by the highest of tribunals — for
two of the three legatees soon followed their bene-
factor to the grave — and as I do not wish to rake
up unnecessarily the ashes of the past, I shall in-
dulge in no harsh criticism of their conduct, but^
in view of the poverty and the suffering entailed
upon those who are dear to me, I could not feel
kindly toward them if my soul were the forfeit.
Save for a few months immediately after the war,
when everything was swept away^ and those with
whom my lot was cast had naught but sympathy
to give me, my ow^n family has never realized that
they had missed the fortune which was so right-
fully theirs. But there are others of my connec-
tion and of my blood upon whom this blow fell
with the blighting and crushing impetus of the
lio;htnin2:'s flash.

In an obscure county m Texas, oppressed by the
burden of a dependent family, fettered by the mis-
fortune of delicate health, and crippled by the want
of early training in manual labor, there exists a
prematurely old man, striving to gain a living for
those who are dear to him by the sweat of his brow
in the cultivation of the soil. Were justice done
him his name would be recorded to-day on the rolls
of the Peers of the United Kingdom, and he would
return o the old house at Hayes as its honored

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 227

master and the rightful owner of the broad acres
which surround it, while his wife and daughters
woukl resume that position in society for which
their birth, their beauty and their virtues so pre-
eminently fit them.

Sorrow and suffering have no depths which he
and those dependent upon him have not fathomed
since that day, when without provocation on his
part or warning from his insane relative, he was
ruthlessly banished from the home of his ancestors,
and left to fight the battle of life single-handed,
penniless, having no profession to fall back upon,
and with a family of little ones pulling at his heart-
strings. You cannot wonder, therefore^ if my
heart is incapable of wearing a mantle of charity
broad enough to embrace the parties who, at any
rate, profited by that which brought destruction to
the interests and disaster to the lives of those who are
near and dear to me. It was in connection with the
contention over this estate that I first saw the true
inwardness of human nature — that I received my ear-
liest and hardest lesson respeeting the ingratitude
and treachery of mankind. As the son of the
leading physician of the place, the husband of its
handsomest and supposedly richest woman, the
Surgeon-General of the State, and the confidential
friend of the Governor, my visits to Edenton had
been veritable ovations ; and I had flattered myself
that I had not an enemy among its inhabitants,
but that each was a friend upon whom I could rely
for his money or his blood. No sooner had the
will been read when I made the discovery, that in
the day of adversity human friendship fades as the
flowers wither beneath the blight of the early frost.
I found that the legatees were the heroes of the hour,
while we had scarcely a corporal's guard of friends
and followers ; and it was then, as I have already

228 A doctor's experiences

told you, that the poor negroes rallied so kiadly
around us. and by their manifestations of sympathy
•and their tokens of good will soothed our lacerated
hearts and filled them with undying thankfulness.

I recall J especially, the conduct of an individual
whose real name I shall supress for his children's
sake. He. was invariably called ''the Colonel'*
away from home and "Mr. D. F." in Edenton,
where he was better known and estimated. He
acquired this cognomen because of a circumstance
to which I was a witness. There lived in that part
of the country a Portugese, named Olivera, who
manifested many eccentricities of character, and
whose English was simply incomprehensible. He
was, withal, sharp-witted, high-tempered, and al-
ways ready to strike back, usually getting the bet-
ter of every controversy. When aroused, with his
flashing eyes, his arching brows, his blazing cheeks,
and his diminutive but martial figure, he was as
^' good as a circus" to look at — from a distance.

The "Colonel," or "Mr. D. F.," as he has ever
<since been called, was a remarkable specimen of
humanity. For selling goods and raising early
vegetables nature had qualified him admirably, but
there she had drawn a line of demarcation and had
remorselessly left him to the solitude of these ex-
clusive talents. He did not begin though to realize
the situation, and aspired to the reputation of a
savant in every department of knowledge as well
as to the role of an intime with all persons of posi-
tion. He would have joined issue with St. Augus-
tin on theology, or with ^sculapius on medicine,
or with Newton on science, or with Hoyle on whist,
or with d'Orsay on fashion, or with any one on any
subject, and believed that he had given each a
lesson in his specialty. He affected to have private
sources of information in resrard to all matters of

IN THREE CONTmENTS. 229

public interest and to know the secret history of
every man discussed or circumstance referred to.
No person of note could he mentioned, but he as-
sumed to be his special friend and confidant, and
his imaginary correspondence with heads of depart-
ments, commanding generals, leading statesmen,
etc., would have filled volumes. With all, he was,
the vainest and the most touchy of men, and to
ridicule him or to disparage him or turn the laugh
on him was to make him an enemy for life.
Obstinacy was also a leading trait in his character,
and he adhered to his statements with a tenacity
such as only supreme ignorance combined with
consummate egotism could have engendered.

So much for the dramatis personce of my story.
One day he was standing on his door-step — the
stage upon which he usually played his role of Sir
Oracle — engaged in his favorite pastime of discuss-
ing some subject about which he knew nothing,
when old Olivera was seen coming down the street
smoking his short pipe, and talking to himself as
was his wont. ^'' Here comes Olivera," exclaimed
the " Colonel." " Look out now for some fun. I
shall quiz him a little and make him show what a
fool he is."

" All right," cried the crowds as the old fellow
approached, touched his cap politely and walked on.

" Stop a moment, sir, and let me pass the com-
pliments of the day," said the ''Colonel," and, as
Olivera obeyed and turned to him inquiringly, he
added, "Good morning, Mr. Portuguese."

Olivera drew himself up, took off his cap, and
bowing low, answered, " Good morning to ye,
Mister Damme Foole," with an emphasis of con-
tempt such as I never heard concentrated in human
language. The ''Colonel" was completely taken
aback, and, with an expression of mingled amaze-

230 A doctor's experiences

raent and humiliation, stammered out something
unintelligible and then beat a precipitate retreat
into the back room of his store, from which he only
ventured out to wait on his customers and to seek
his meals for weeks afterward. The idea that any
one should presume to address an insulting epithet
to him was more than he could stand, and he
nursed his wrath for many a long day over it.
Ever afterward he was spoken of as " Mr. D. F.,"
to his supreme disgust and indignation. As I
have already indicated, his conduct in connection
with the contest over the will was provoking, to
say the least of it, though he paid dearly enough
for his treason in the end. He had always pre-
tended to be 9, devoted friend of the rector's family,
and that profession had been the source to him of a
^' mint of money " in the way of business ; but so
soon as the will was produced he became an open
enemy and posed as the particular friend and con-
fidant of Mr. Johnstone — who, to my certain
knowledge, had always regarded him with positive
disdain and aversion. He essayed to play the role
of a ''willing witness" at the trial, pretending to
relate conversations previous to the war in which
Mr. Johnstone had unkindly criticised the rector
and his family ; but he soon had reason to wish
himself hidden beneath his counter or buried in
his cabbage beds or drowned in his rain-gage.
Governor Bragg, with that ingenuity and power
of satire of which he was so specially a master,
''went for him" in a way which utterly confused
and annihilated him. The terrible castigation
which he received on that occasion completely
broke him down, and he died a few years after-
ward, leaving a void which is still esteemed a
blessing by others besides old Olivera, the sponsor

IN THREE 'continents. 231

who gave him the name which he carried with him
to his grave.

If condign punishment had been meted out to all
who went back on their old friends, the village
parson and the family doctor, in those days of ad-
versity, the work of final retribution would be ma-
terially lightened, and the devil cheated out of
many a victim for whom he has reserved a warm
reception in the great hereafter.

Que pensez vous, mon ami f

232 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

LETTER XV.

ALBANIA. *

My Dear Doctor :

We took up our residence at Albania, as I have
already told you. This plantation contained over
six hundred acres, and though it was not adapted
to the growth of corn and cotton — as a somewhat
costly experience demonstrated — it produced fruit
and vegetables abundantly. After that discovery I
converted it into a regular '' truck farm/' and thus
became the j^ioneer in a business which has since re-
deemed that section and made it one of the richest
in North Carolina.

Notwithstanding my professional engagements!
found time to amuse myself with the occupations
incident to country life, and some of the pleasant-
est moments of my existence were spent among the
grape vines and potato rows at Albania. At any
rate the dream of my life has ever since been to sink
the shop at the first convenient moment and to retire
in blissful ease and undisturbed repose suh tegmine
fagi for the remainder of my days.

The house was beautiful in appearance and com-
plete in arrangements, and we furnished it from
cellar to attic according to our own tastes ; the
grounds had been laid out with great skill and we
adorned them with shade trees, parterres of flow-
ers and hedges of shrubbery ; the old bridge span-
ning the little stream which separated the place
from the town limits was pulled down and a grace-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 233

ful structure erected in its stead ; the orchard wa&
trimmed J culled, and planted with every variety of
fruit trees ; the garden was reclaimed from the
rank weeds which overran it, laid out in appro-
priate beds, and sown with the choicest vegetables ;
and in fact nothing was left undone to render our
home comfortable, beautiful and attractive — to make
it a source of pride and satisfaction to ourselves^
and, as we hoped, to our children. But it soon
became apparent that amid the trees and flowers
and shrubs that we loved so well there lurked the
seeds of a miasm which was undermining the
health of her who was its chief ornament and at-
traction. My beloved wife grew ill there, the
roses faded from her cheeks and the yellow tint of
malarial poisoning took their places, and I realized
the painful fact that the home which we loved so
well must be abandoned or that she would die. It was
in vain that she sought the recuperating breezes of
the seashore and the invigorating air of the moun-
tains ; her return to Albania was always attended
by fresh sickness and renewed suffering. The
birth of a babe brought infinite joy to our hearts,
but no renewal of health to the fading mother,
while the child seemed to languish from its first
breath. At this juncture, while in a state of anx-
ious solicitude for the two beings upon whom my
heart's idolatry was concentrated, and uncertain
what to do for their relief, a kind Providence seemed
to open the way to a solution of the difficulty. A
death occurred in the faculty of the University of
Maryland, and I eagerly entered the list as a can-
didate for the vacant professorship, thinking that
success would secure a commanding position and a
pleasant residence in the city of Baltimore, where
I hoped long lives of health and happiness were
reserved for me and mine. I was successful, and

'234 A doctor's experiences

my beautiful home was sold as a preliminary to my
dej)arture from Carolina. How my brain reels and
my heart aches as I write these words ! I loved
Albania, for it was there that I had realized the
blissful sense of possessing a home of my own;
there that the halcyon days of my existence were
passed in sweet communion with a kindred spirit ;
there that -my first-born first beheld the light of
heaven and of her mother's loving eyes, and I felt
as I subscribed to the deed which made it another's
as if I were signing away my happiness and my
life. I would rather have lived there in rags and
wretchedness than in the palace of the Tuileries in
the meridian of its splendor, and nothing of grand-
eur and of glory that the heart can conceive of
could have induced me to part with it had I not
believed its surrender essential to the safety of my
wife and child. The gloom w^hich then oppressed
me proved a veritable prognostication of evil — one
of those strange presages of disaster which some-
times flash through the mind and fill it with
dread in spite of reason and philosophj^ ; for
in less than a year from the day on which that
fatal document was signed, sealed and delivered,
the storm of war had burst upon the country, bring-
ing with it the dissipation of my plans and the
ruin of my hopes, and making me a wanderer upon
the earth, without a home or a refuge that I could
call my own.

I. sold the estate to John A. Benbury, taking
neither a lien upon it nor security of any kind for
it, and accepting his ^'promissory notes" for a
great portion of the purchase money. He was a
good man. and an honest one, and all would have
been well but for the '' cruel war," which num-
bered him among its victims and left me penniless.

At the battle of Gaines' Mills, while gallantly

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 235

leading bis company — the ^^ Albemarle Guards" —
wbich I bad organized during tbe Jobn Brown ex-
citement, be was struck by a conical ball, wbich
entered bis '^ pocket-book" and divided itself into
halves — one remaining in situ, tbe other glancing
upward through tbe bladder, and producing a
wound from which be died a few days afterward. I
stood by bis bedside as bis brave spirit took its
flight with a heart overflowing with the memories
of our boyhood, and eyes sufl'used with tears of re-
gret for bis loss, little thinking at the time that
tbe missile wbich carried death to him and despair
to bis loving wife was freighted also with disaster
to me and mine.

It turned out afterward that nothing remained
of bis estate save Albania, and bis wife claiming
the "right of dower" upon it, I was compelled to
sell tbe "^ promissory notes for what they would
bring — which was a mere song— and I thus lost
my beloved home and a greater portion of the so-
called purchase-money. Hard lines, were they not,
my friend?

It was during tbe period of my residence at Al-
bania that tbe country w^as startled by the intelli-
gence of tbe John Brown escapade at Harper's
Ferry, Virginia. It produced a profound sensation
throughout tbe South, for it was recognized as tbe
first blast from the war cloud which overshadowed
tbe country. The organization of military com-
panies became the order of the day, and tbe citizens
of Edenton were not behind-hand in the work. At
a meeting called for this purpose, more than a
bundred recruits were immediately enrolled, tbe
name of "tbe Albemarle Guards" was selected
for tbe organization, and, somewhat to my surprise
for I bad no military training, I was elected its
captain by an overwhelming majority. I devoted

236 A doctor's experiences

my self J however, with great assiduity to the work^
and was soon gratified by having under my com-
mand a fully equi}3ped and a thoroughly drilled
company. Although m\' connection with it was
happily of brief duration, as I removed to Baltimore
a short time afterward, it was long enough to in-
volve me in an adventure which came near termi-
nating my life and that of another person. We
had taken possession of a large wharf, and were
engaged in target practice, when a man by the
name of Mitchell — a noted bear-hunter and a very
desperate character when under the influence of
drink — assaulted the guard and attempted to break
through the lines for the purpose of reaching a
boat that was moored beyond them. Having as-
certained the cause of the difficulty, I ordered the
company to cease firing for the time being, while I
attempted to mollify the fellow and to conduct him
quietly to his boat, so as to get him out of harm's
way as quickly as possible. He was polite enough
to me as w^e walked along, but he refused to be ap-
peased so far as the guard was concerned, and con-
tinued to indulge in the fiercest oaths and threats
against them. Having reached the end of the
wharf, he stepped into the boat, and, turning sud-
denly, grappled me by the legs and attempted to
throw me over him into the water, with the evi-
dent purpose of committing murder. I had my
drawn sword in my right hand, but the attack was
so sudden and w^e were at such close quarters that
1 could not use it, and the only thing I managed to
do was to throw my left arm around his neck in
such a way that we came down into the boat to-
gether. Disengaging myself in an instant, I struck
him three blows over the head with my sword, and
he lay bleeding and senseless at my feet. For the
moment I thought I had killed him, and spring-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. . 23^

•

ing to the wharf again I called the guard and
ordered them to lift him carefully out of the boat,
and to place him upon the ground — when it soon
became apparent that though severely wounded he
was still alive. Having played the role militant^ I
now devoted myself to the role professional, and
throwing off my coat and staunching the blood with
handkerchiefs saturated with cold water, I sent to
my office for the necessary appliances, and jjro-
ceeded to dress his wounds secundum art em.

Before I had completed my work consciousness
returned, and with it sobriety, and his professions
of penitence and regret were overwhelming, but
not so sincere in my judgment as I should have
liked considering his desperate character and the
fact that my professional duties called me to his
neighborhood at all hours of the day and night.
.The amusing feature of the affair was his lamenta-
tions over a "brand new set of crockery," as he de-
scribed it, which he had expressly come to town
"to purchase for the old woman," and had been
broken in the melee, as it was in the bottom of the
boat. In the amiability of mind which my own
escape and his return to consciousness inspired, I
sent to the nearest store and had another set pur-
chased for him ; and he sailed off with a bandaged
head and a replenished cargo amid the huzzas of
the entire company.

This was the only incident of moment that oc-
curred while I commanded the company, but it was
decimated afterward. It left Edenton at the begin-
ning of the war more than a hundred strong, and
having participated in every battle in which Gen-
eral Lee's army was concerned, it returned after
the surrender with only ten men on its muster list.

I did not see Mitchell again for several weeks,
when our meeting was of a peculiar and exciting

238 A doctor's experiences

character. I was induced by some friends to go with
them on a ' 'deer hunt, ' ' and was placed at a stand in
the midst of a pocoson at least a mile distant from
any other person. After waiting patiently for nearly
an hour I left the stand and started homeward,
when I was startled by^the approach of footsteps,
and peering beneath the undergrowth, I saw
Mitchell making his was stealthily through the
swamp and coming directly toward me. My blood
curdled^ but I prepared to defend my life, as I had
heard ol his threat to ''get even with Dr. Warren
before the end of the year," and I knew that I had
a desperado to deal with. Concealing myself un-
til he was not more than twenty feet distant, I
startled him by suddenly crying out : ''Halt," and
pointing my cocked gun at his head, said: "Put
down that gun, and your box of caps with it, or I
shall blow your brains out." He was taken utterly
aback, and as his gun was uncocked and on his
shoulder he realized that I had the advantage of
him and obeyed in an instant.

"Now," said I, "turn around and go home.
Your gun is safe where it is and you can return and
get it to-morrow."

"The devil you say. Doctor; and what do you
want with my box of caps ? And why do you
treat me in this way, any how ? I would not hurt
a hair of your head for Dr. Tom's plantation."

"Oh! that is all very well. Talk is cheap,
you know. I befriended you and you tried to
drown me. I dressed your wounds and gave you a
new set of crockery, and you told Elisha Smith
that you would "get even with me" before the
year was out. I am going to destroy your caps so
that you can't sneak back here to get your gun and
shoot me before I am out of this pocoson."

But, Doctor, them caps cost a quarter. I

cc

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 239

bought them at oh:l Billy Badham's last night, and
he would not trust me for them, neither. I really
can't afford to lose them."

"As to that, you shan't lose them. I will tell
Mr. Badham to let you have two boxes on my ac-
count."

" Well, that is talking sense, and you are a
gentleman, any way. Do you think I would shoot
you? I am the best friend you and the old man
have in Cowpenneck."

'' I would not trust you, Mitchell, if you thought
you had a fair chance at me, as you supposed to-day.
What did you come into the swamp for, and why
did you hunt me up ? But it is useless to talk
further on this subject. My finger is getting
rather stiff from pressing so long on this trigger,
and I may send you to "kingdom come' before I
know it. So now be off at once." And he went
off in a hurry, while I^ having first taken the pre-
caution to discharge his gun and to throw his caps
in the mud, followed after him until I reached the
high road and rejoined my friends, feeling more
comfortably than I had done for the preceding half
hour. I am convinced that he sought me with the de-
liberate purpose of taking my life, and that nothing
saved me but the fact that I had changed my po-
sition and took time by the forelock when he made
his appearance. How the matter might have re-
sulted had not a kind providence afHicted him with
pneumonia a short time afterward, and made me
the instrument by which his life was saved and his
resentment appeased, it is impossible to say with
accuracy ; but I am strongly inclined to the belief
that on some dark night, while driving alone in his
neighborhood, I should have fallen by the wayside
before the great bear hunter's unerring shot-gun.

Durinsf the summer which succeeded mv election

240 A doctor's experiences

to tlie chair of materia medica and therapeutics in.
the University of Maryland, I carried my family to
the Virginia Springs, visiting the most not-ed of
them, making many pleasant acquaintances, and
having on the whole a very delightful time.

The White Sulphur especially was crowded with
visitors, embracing many leading politicians from
the Southern States, while the great topic of con-
versation was the anticipated war between the sec-
tions— it being generall}^ believed that the Korth
would be ignominiously beaten within thirty days
from the commencement of hostilities. So much
for human foresight and for political sagacity in
particular.

I stopped for a few days at the Sweet Chalybeate,
the waters of which contained iron in abundance,
and have great reputation in cases of anaemia.
There I met with a strange old man, who though
a Jew by birth and a gambler by profession, proved
one of the truest friends that 1 have ever been
blessed with. The first time that my wife and I
went to the table cVhote, we found sitting opposite
to us a man with long gray hair and flowing
beard, possessing the Hebrew type of countenance
in a marked degree, and endowed with a loquacity
which was seemingly limitless. Talk to us he
would, asking every possible question, and giving the
fullest details concerning his own personal history,
but taking especial care not to be impolite or offensive.
He struck me as a garrulous veillard vf\i\\ a morbid
curiosity and great simplicity of character, though
subsequent experience showed that there was more
in him than appearances indicated. We treated
him politely and answ^ered his questions frankly,
but I made it a point to request the manager to
move our seats, thinking in that way to get rid of
our inquisitive friend. But that plan was unsuc-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 241

cessfal. So soon as he discovered our locality he
again took a seat opposite to us, remarking as he
did so, '' Don't think me rude, hut I have taken a
fancy to you folks and have followed you up, you
see." It thus became impossible to avoid him
without making an issue, and as he was harmless and
not disposed to intrude unduly on our privacy, we
permitted him to have his way and to talk to us at
discretion. It turned out that he resided in Balti-
more, was the brother of the late Captain Levy, U.
S. N., and had, during the greater part of his life,
been engaged in keeping a faro bank, by means of
which he managed to live — as he was what the
gamblers call a " square player." Indeed, as dis-
reputable as was his occupation, he was strictly
honest«and honorable, and nothing could have in-
duced him to take any advantage beyond that
which '' the game allows." He had seen a great
deal of life, and though as simple as a child him-
self, he knew human nature ah ovo usque ad mala,
and was one of the best judges of men that I ever
saw. I took daily walks with him, and was greatly
entertained by the stories which he told of his long
and curious career, and the questions which he
asked of all whom he encountered in regard to
everything upon the face of the earth. And I
finally attended him in an attack of illness of some
severity, in connection with which he believed that
I had saved his life ; he became my devoted friend
for the remainder of his days, as you will see in the
course of this narrative. At the Healing Springs,
in Bath county, I met Mr. James C. Johnstone,
and was detained there for several weeks with
him, as he was suffering from one of his periodical
attacks of ''nervousness," or, in other words, in-
sanity. So decidedly suicidal was his mania and
gO violent were his ravings over the '' unpardon-
16

242 A doctor's expereexces

able sin '"' which he alleged he had committed —
his constant sobs, shrieks and imprecations — that
we had to watch him with ceaseless vigilance to
prevent him from taking his life and from being
overheard by those around him. Indeed, with the
latter end in view, we rented the cottage on either
side of his, which was fortunately somewhat sep-
arated from the rest — so as to p)revent them from
being occupied by other guests, to whom his con-
dition would necessarily have revealed itself. On
some days he had lucid intervals, and during these
he invariably implored me to place him under re-
straint, saying he feared that he might do some-
thing desperate either with himself or with his
property in the excitement of his nervous attacks, of
the true nature of which he seemed to have had an
idea, as he frequently remarked that insanity was
in his blood, which was lamentably true. And
yet, strange to relate, certain parties who were
witnesses of all that occurred there, and who daily
discussed with me the question of conveying him
to the lunatic asylum at Staunton, testified at the
trial in explicit terms that they had ^' never seen
aught in his conduct which justified a doubt as ta
his sanity."

It is true that they were remembered in the will,
but I believe them to be perfectly honest men ;
and I have never been able to understand their
testimony, as I was not there to refresh their
memories by a few pertinent questions ; such for
instance as : Why we watched him together so vi-
gilantly? Why we rented the contiguous cottages?
Why we discussed the question of conveying him
to Staunton? etc.

My father, who was a shrewd observer, always
said that a man could bring himself to believe
whatever he desired to believe without a conscious

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 243

compromise of integrity. The truth of this idea
was certainly illustrated in this instance, for the
parties in question learned to forget just what they
desired to forget, and still preserved their con-
sciences intact, as I am thoroughly convinced.

It was during my sojourn at the Healing Springs
and amid my solitary vigils at the bedside of this
wretched lunatic that I had revealed to me the true
nature of the burden which had so long weighed
upon his soul, and given significance to his inter-
minable ravings respecting the "unpardonable
sin" about which he raved so persistently.

It is useless to go into particulars now — though
I should have done so at the trial in the interest of
truth and justice — since he has been judged already
at that bar from which there is no appeal, but I
will simply say that, in failing to make the resti-
tution for which his original will was intended, he
committed as infamous a crime as ever disgraced
humanity, if in the possession of his faculties and
really responsible for his acts. In a word, I ascer-
tained with absolute certainty that he was either
a madman and beyond the pale of all moral re-
sponsibility, or a criminal, and deserving of one of
the severest penalties known to the law— a punish-
ment which would have transmitted his name in
infamy to posterity.

With a positive knowledge of the secret history of
his life, I can and I do throw the mantle of charity
over his deeds ; and I implore you and all who may
read these pages to believe with me that the con-
duct of his later days was the result and the ex]30-
nent of positive physical disease, of a cerebral me-
tamorphosis and degeneration, which filled his mind
with delusions, perverted his moral sense and abro-
gated his free agency and responsibility.

But "spilt milk" is a commodity over which

244 • A doctor's experiexces

lamentations have long since been voted a drug,
and I will let this matter rest where a facile jury has
left it, with the/emark that the greatest wrong that
can he done to the memory of Mr. Johnstone is to
ascribe to him reason and responsibility, since
such an assumption places him in the position of
having really committed the ^'unpardonable sin''
of depriving the rector and his family of property
which was theirs already and which he had no legal
right to alienate.

Justice to the living and the dead constrains me
to say that the legatees were ignorant of the fact
to which I allude, and that the only jierson who
could have thrown light upon it drowned herself in
the adjacent creek during an attack of temporary
insanity induced by the distress which her knowl-
edge of it had occasioned.

IN THEEE CONTINENTS. 245

LETTER XVI.

THE ROLE OF A PEOFESSOR.

My Dear Doctor :

It was a serious thing to go to a great city and
undertake the role of a professor, and I felt the
responsibility of my position most acutely, espe-
cially as my success in obtaining it had naturally
excited the jealousy of my competitors and their
supporters.

I had prepared a full course of lectures in advance,
and I thought I should have nothing to do but to
read them in an impressive manner. In this I
made a fearful mistake, as I soon learned to my
sorrow, for I found not only that mere didactic
teaching was but a small portion of the labor to
which I stood committed, but that my lectures were
not at all adapted to the purposes for which they
bad been prepared.

The medical charge of the hospital attached to
the college was at once assigned me, and I had to
visit its wards daily, followed by a crowd of sharp-
witted students, to make an accurate diagnosis, to
prescribe appropriately, and to explain everything
of clinical significance in each case that presented
itself.

Fortunately, I had been a thorough student from
the day of my defeat in the ^sculapian Society,
and my experience in hospitals abroad and at the
bedside at home had given me that readiness in
interpreting morbid phenomena, that facility in the

246 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

emj)loyment of remedies, and that practical knowl-
edge of disease in general which the exigencies of
the situation so peremptorily demanded ; while my
fluency of speech — which, I am sure, you will not
consider me egotistical in claiming — assured my
success as a clinical lecturer from the start. But
the task was no easy one, and the amount of
'' midnight oil" consumed in preparing for my
daily duties can hardly be estimated, as I had
every stimulus to exertion that could inspire the
human heart. Strange to say, I experienced more
difficult}" with my regular lectures than with any-
thing else, and for some time I realized that I w^as
making a failure in that regard. I soon discovered
that, although my lectures were finished discourses
from a literary and a scientific point of view, they
did not impress my auditors, hut, on the contrary,
rendered them listless and unsympathetic. Unable
to appreciate the situation, and surprised that my
elaborate disquisitions seemed to be wasted on the
class, notwithstanding their polished periods and
their oratorical flights, I requested a friend of sound
judgment to attend several of my lectures, and to
endeavor to ascertain their defects and the secret
of my manifest failure.

After having listened to but a single one, he
sought me and said: ^' Well, Warren, I have
heard your lecture, and have come with my report.
But, first, let me ask if all of them are like the one
which I listened to on yesterday ?"

^' Yes," I answered, " I think the one which I
delivered on yesterday is a fair specimen of the rest,
only that as 1 progress with the subject I naturally
become less elementary and more technical."

" Then," said he, " that being the case, let me
advise you to make a bonfire of them immediately."

" Burn my lectures," cried I, ''burn them after

m THREE CONTINENTS. 247

all the thought and research that I have devoted to
them? Are the}^, then^ such miserable produc-
tions— such dead failures ? How am I to get on
without them?"

^' Yes, burn them all, and do it to-day," he re-
plied. ' ' They are creditable productions enough in
themselves, but they are not suited to those to
whom they are addressed. They would answer for
professors, but not for students. You tire above
the heads of your auditors, and they do not see
what you are aiming at. Burn them. Trust to
your knowledge of the subject, to your natural
oratorical powers, and to the inspiration of an at-
tracted class, and you will succeed. The students
say that you are ' a trump at the bedside,' but 'a
bore in the lecture-room.' So go to work and talk
in the same natural manner in both places. Instead
of supposing that you have to address educated
doctors, select the most ignorant student in the
class and lecture to him exclusively — suiting your
ideas and your language to the measure of his ca-
pacity, and you will please and instruct the rest."

I spent a sleepless night, thinking continuously
of this criticism and advice, but without being able
to summon courage enough to follow my friend's
suggestions ; and I went to the lecture-room on the
next day determined to make another brave effort
in behalf of my bantlings before concluding to
consign them to the flames, as I thought them
worthy of a better fate.

I tried to speak with unusual emphasis ; to make
up in manner for all other deficiencies, but hard 1 3^
had I begun when I felt so hampered by the com-
ments of my friend, and so confused by the per-
sistent indifference of the class, that I could scarcely
read the manuscript before me, and I halted, stam-
mered, and blushed crimson with each succeeding

248 A doctor's experiences

sentence. Finally, meeting with the word ele-
phantiasis, my tongue failed absolutely to perform
its functions. Here was a dilemma indeed, and I
perfectly recognized its significance, realizing that
I must do something desperate to escape from it or
retire in disgrace from the lecture-room. Stopping
for a moment, and taking a drink of water — the
last resource of oratorical desperation — I seized my
manuscript, tore it into a hundred pieces, and,
throwing them from the rostrum, said: '' There go
my bladders, gentlemen, and I shall swim without
them or sink in the attempt." The effect was
magical. The students rose from their seats, and
gave cheer after cheer in the wildest enthusiasm,
and when silence was restored I proceeded with my
lecture, and, without halt or hesitation, talked on
to the end of the hour.

From that day I never carried a note into the
lecture-room, but trusting to a thorough knowledge
of the subject, to my natural fluency of speech, and
to the manifest partiality of the class, I lectured
regularly to crowded benches, and with a success
which I will leave you to estimate, as I was fre-
quently honored by your presence in the audience.

Nor did I forget the advice which had been given
me in regard to the matter and style of my lec-
tures, for, selecting a student who seemed most
signally to illustrate the Darwinian theory of man's
descent, I addressed myself to him exclusively, and
in terms which I thought his primal ancestors
themselves would appreciate, with the result of
pleasing and instructing the entire class, just as my
friend had predicted.

We had a delightful time socially. The best
people called on us, and invited us to their houses.
There was no feeling against us as strangers, but
we were sought after, caressed, flattered, and over-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 249

whelmed with courtesies of every kind. Baltimore
seemed, indeed, a veritable Paradise, with every-
thing to render it attractive, and to fill us with
thankfulness that our lots had been cast with such
charming people and in so delightful a place. I
was at once elected a member of the Maryland
Club, and made the surgeon of a crack regiment^
while my name figured in the lists of every possi-
ble fashionable enterprise and charitable adventure.
Private practice came also in a full tide from the
first, my Hebrew friend of the Sweet Chalybeate
materially swelling the current by his enthusiastic
laudation whenever my name was mentioned. In
a word, heaven seemed to have selected me for the
fullest measure of its sunshine, and blessed with
health, means, position, the prospect of greater
wealth, an adoring wife and a lovely child, I
fondly dreamed that my cup of bliss was filled to
repletion, and that there were no dregs at the
bottom of it. But I was destined to find it the
merest mockery and the most empty delusion after
all.

Preoccupied with the duties of my position, and
having long since ceased to take interest in poli-
tics, I wa^ insensible to the progress of events un-
til troops were actually marching through Balti-
more to engage in the work of subjugating and
devastating the South.

I had a particular friend, an Irishman by the
name of Davis, to whom I had long been de-
votedly attached. He and his young wife — a charm-
ing woman, whose life was bound up in her hus-
band— resided in the same house with us, and were
our constant companions.

On the 19th of April, 1861, I accepted an in-
vitation to accompany him to the Washington
depot to witness the departure of the 6th Massa-

250 A doctor's experiences

cliusetts regiment, as I desired to learn sometTiing
of the material with which it was proposed to coerce
the Southern people^ a task that I then deemed im-
possible. I should explain that io those days troops
coming from the North and bound to the South
had to leave the train at the President street depot,
and to march along Pratt street to the Camden
street depot, a distance of about one mile and a
half; and it was to the latter place that we pro-
posed to go for the gratification of our curiosity.

Preliminary to starting on this mission, I visited
a patient in the neighborhood and was unexpect-
edly detained for half an hour at his residence,
having to wait for my hat, which some one had
taken away by mistake. This trivial circumstance
possibly saved my life. When I returned to keep
my engagement with Davis, I found that he had
grown impatient at my delay and had left without
me, and I went to m}^ office and remained there an
hour engaged in reading. On going into the street
again I found the greatest possible excitement and
commotion prevailing there. People were rushing
in the wildest confusion toward Pratt street, breaking
into the gun stores and armories en route, and cry-
ing ^' Baltimoreans to the rescue ! The war has
commenced ! The troops have fired upon the citi-
zens ! Our brothers are being murdered ! Let us
avenge them !" In a moment every drop of blood
within me was on fire, and I joined the throng and
liastened eagerly to the scene of conflict. On
arriving there I found a large number of police in-
terposed between a crowd of excited citizens and a
detachment of demoralized troops which was being
marched toward the depot under the protection of
the mayor and the chief of police. I learned that
a serious engagement had occurred between the
people and two detachments which had preceded

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 251

this one, in which a number of persons on both
sides were wounded, and that the police had inter-
fered and put an end to the disturbance, but with
the greatest difficulty. I had been on the ground
but a few moments when I saw a special friend of
mine gesticulating wildly, and relating something
which seemed to distress him greatly, and fill those
about him with almost ungovernable fury. Push-
ing through the crowd, I at last approached him
and cried out: ^^In God's name, what is the
matter.'' "Matter!" he exclaimed_, "Davis is
dead. He has been shot down like a dog. Come
and help to avenge his murder."

" Davis m-urdered !" I cried. " Lead on and I
wdll follow to the death ; but let us go to the
Armory and get muskets. We can't fight with our
naked hands." But, before we could do anything,
it was announced that the soldiers had been placed
on the train and sent off to Washington, and thus the
opportunity to avenge our murdered friend was lost
forever.

I then learned that having reached the depot be-
fore the arrival of the troops he strolled leisurely
along the track until he got beyond the limits of
the city, and, that, when the train passed him, in
total ignorance of the attack which had been made
on the soldiers and in the purest badinage, he
waved his hat in the air and cried: "Hurrah for
Jeff Davis ! " — when a hundred guns were fired si-
multaneously from the windows, and he fell with
a bullet through his heart, the first victim to the
war between the sections. But for the trivial cir-
cumstance of having to wait for my hat, I should
have been with him and at his side to receive, per-
haps, one of the hundred balls which were sped on
that mission of vengeance and death.

I immediately started in search of his remains ;

252 A doctor's experiences

made arrangements to have them transferred to his
residence so soon as the coroner's work was done,
and then went in advance to break the terrible
news to his wife. Of that heart-rending interview,
and of all the sad incidents connected with the ar-
rival of his body and its subsequent interment, I
can not trust myself to write, for the recollection
of them is like a sharp thorn in my heart even at
this distant day. Thus was sacrificed, wantonly
and unnecessarily, one of nature's real noblemen —
one whose bosom glowed with the best traits of the
race to which he belonged — and to whom the term
gentleman in its highest and most comprehensive
significance was as thoroughly applicable as to any
man I have ever known. He was summoned to his
last account without a moment's warning ; but for
every sin registered against him there were a thou-
sand good deeds recorded as an offset, and I be-
lieve that the fountain of mercy flowed as freely for
him as for any shriven soul that ever stood before
the judgment seat.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 253

LETTER XVII.

THE WAE BEGUN.

My Dear Doctor : •

The affair of the 19th of April produced a fear-
ful commotion in the country, and there were stir-
ring scenes in Baltimore for some days .afterward.
Throughout the North there resounded a cry for
vengeance, and preparations were made to invade
Maryland and to burn its rebellious city. The
South received the intelligence with the wildest
manifestations of delight and promises of prompt
assistance in case of need. The people of Baltimore
without distinction of party were a unit in their
approval of the assault, and mass-meetings were
held daily in Monument Square to give expression
to the prevailing sentiment against the passage of
troops through the city. Of two of these meetings
I have a specially vivid memory : one of them
was presided over by Holiday Hicks — then the im-
cumbent of the gubernatorial chair — who professed
-a readiness to shed the last drop of his blood to pro-
tect Baltimore against further invasion, and a
month afterward became the pliant tool of the
Federal authorities to this very end ; and the
other was electrified by a speech from ex-Grovernor
Lowe, which was one of the most stirring that I
ever heard. Commencing in this wise : ''Were I
Governor of Maryland for a single hour to-night, I
should seize yon time-honored banner, and turning
my face toward the Pennsylvania line, would call
upon every loyal son of the South to follow me,"

254 A doctor's exI'eriences

he poured out for an hour a torrent of such burning-
words as moved almost to frenzy the excited crowd
around him. The volunteer companies were called
to arms ; others were promptly organized ; and
nothing w^as left undone in the work of preparing
to repel any invasion that might be attempted.
On the Sunday succeeding the attack in Pratt
street intelligence was received of the approach of
a body of Northern troops, and the greatest excite-
ment prevailed. The church bells were rung ; the
u:eneral fire-alarm was sounded ; and the citizen s^
turned out en masse with such arms as they could
commandj and flocking to the City Hall, prepared
to resist the enemy, a Voutrance. I was made
surgeon-in-chief of the municipal forces, and au-
thorized to employ as many assistants as were re-
quired, and to seize all necessary instruments, ap-
pliances and stores, and to hold myself ready to
take charge of the wounded. Indeed, I actually
received orders to march to the field, and mounted
on an immense white horse seized for the occasion
at the nearest livery stable, and with a large corp&
of surgeons and a caravan of express wagons fol-
lowing after me, I marched up Baltimore street to
Green, when I was ordered to return to head-
quarters, there being really no enemy at Catons-
ville, as had been reported. I was, nevertheless,
kept on duty for a number of days, while the whole
city resounded with martial music and glittered
with uniforms and bayonets. The authorities at
Washington having in the mean time become
alarmed and not wishing to precipitate hostilities
on that side of the Potomac, came to an understand-
ing with the mayor that the city should not be
molested and that the troops ' 'called out for the
defense of the National capital" — as they put it —

IN THREE CONTmENTS. 255

sTiould be sent to Annapolis and transported thence
"by rail to the District.

Taking advantage of the momentary lull and
anticipating subsequent trouble, I carried my fam-
ily as far as Norfolk en route to Edenton, and re-
turned immediately to Baltimore, so as to be ready
for any emergency. A short time after my return
I was sent for by Grenerals Stewart and Elzy — then
in command of the volunteer organizations of the
city — and. informed that they had men in abun-
dance, but were sadly in want of arms, and requested
to bear letters to the governors of Virginia and of
North Carolina, asking for a contribution from each
of a thousand muskets. It was a perilous undertak-
ing, as the route through Washington was closed and
the Relay House was in the hands of General Butler^
who was said to be very strict in his examination
of persons and of their baggage. I considered it a
point of honor, however, to accept the mission
whatever might be the risk attending it, and after
having seen two of my colleagues and obtained
their cordial indorsement of the undertaking, I
started on the next morning, taking with me only a
hand-satchel with a change of linen, and leaving
my office and all of my effects in charge of a ser-
vant. I expected to be absent about two weeks,
but it was not until after four years of suffering,
peril and pecuniary ruin that I saw Baltimore
again — to find my chair occupied by another, my
colleagues hostile or indifferent, my hosts of ardent
friends changed into mere acquaintances, and my
books, instruments, clothing and everything that
I possessed scattered to the winds.

When the train on which I was a passenger
reached the Relay House, I slipped into my pockets
everything that could make the identification of
my hand-satchel possible, and then wrapping the

256 A doctor's experiences

dangerous letters in an old newspaper, I left it
open upon the seat which I had occupied and re-
treated to the platform in the rear. I watched the
guard as it came stamping and cursing on its mis-
sion of investigation, intending to jump off and
disappear in the crowd if they examined the satchel,
as I should have been shot to a certainty had the
letters been found and traced to me. Fortunately,
the ruse succeeded, for, observing that the satchel
was open and only a roll of old paper was visible,
they simply scanned it furtively and passed on. I
then entered the car very boldly and meeting them
half way answered their questions in regard to my-
self by saying that I was a doctor returning to his
home in the South, and concerning my baggage by
pointing to the satchel which they had passed over.
This seemed to be satisfactory, as with an oath or
two — uttered on general principles — they went on
with their work and left me unmolested. We
were detained fully three hours, and I began to
think that we would not be permitted to proceed
further and that I should fall into " Old Ben's "
clutches after all. But the whistle finally sounded,
and my agony of suspense was relieved by the de-
parture of tiie train. In my whole life I have
never experienced such intensely anxious moments
as those which I passed at that depot, with General
Elzy's compromising letters in my satchel and
General Butler's brutal guard on the train. For
weeks afterward visions of a drum-head court
martial and of a squad of uniformed executioners
floated though my mind^ and I never retired with-
out dreaming of a cross-eyed man and a death war-
rant— such was the impression produced upon my
brain by what occurred on that memorable day at
the Kelay House.

At Point of Rocks I saw General Turner Ashby,

m THREE CONTINENTS. 257

and having explained my mission and sliown my
letters, obtained permission from him to cross the
river and to proceed to Leesburg, Virginia, from
whence a train ran to Alexandria. I was particu-
larly struck with Ashby, and was not surprised
<at the brilliant reputation wdiich he subsequently
made for himself. Though diminutive in person,
he possessed that peculiar nervous organization
which develops force and fortitude out of a seem-
ingly deficient physical system, and with which
high courage and great dash are invariably asso-
ciated. With hair as black as the crow's breast,
s> flowing beard of the same color, and features
delicately molded, his face was lighted up by two
small gray eyes, which seemed to coruscate with
every passing emotion, and to tell of the pride and
daring which were the dominating elements of his
character. He fell early in the war, but not before
he had associated his name w^ith deeds of heroism
which have secured for it a commanding position
in the history of the struggle, and will transmit it
to posterity as that of one of the bravest of the brave.
Oeneral Jackson — the immortal "Stonewall" of
Confederate days — in his report of the engagement
in which he fell, says of him : " As a partisan of-
ficer, I never knew his superior. His daring
bravery was proverbial ; his powers of endurance
almost incredible ; his tone of character heroic ;
and his sagacity in discovering the purposes and
movements of the enemy almost intuitive." For
such a eulogium from such a source any man
might be proud to die, and it will stand as a
monument to his memory while true heroism is
appreciated among men.

My traveling companion was Charles Winder,
of Maryland, who had just resigned a captaincy in
the United States Army — which had been given to
17

258 A doctor's experiexces

liim for standing by his command on a sinking-
steamer when every other officer sought safety in a
passing vessel — and was proceeding southward to
offer his sword to the Confederacy,

He afterward distinguished himself on manj
bloody fields and was created a brigadier-general
at an early period of the war for ' ' conspicuous
gallantry in the face of the enemy." I never met
with a more modest and charming man, or one
who bore more decidedly the stamp of high breed-
ing, purity of character, and chivalrous courage.
Though we met as strangers, we parted as friends,
and I paid him the tribute of many a sympathetic-
tear when I heard that he had fallen at Cedar Pun
in the summer of '62, "manifesting the same
spirit as on the wreck, that which holds life light
when weighed against honor," as Mr. Davies tes-
tifies. He was a near relative of Gen. John H.
Winder, to whose lot it fell to have charge of the
Federal prisoners during the war and to be exposed
to such a storm of abuse afterward. Though au-
stere in manner and somewhat of a martinet in
disposition, I believediim to have been a man of
kind heart and scrupulous integrity, and I am con-
vinced that so far from having deliberately con-
tributed to the sufferings of those under his charge
he did all in his power to ameliorate their condi-
tion. Mr. Davis, as you tnow, bears emphatic
testimony in his favor, declaring that '^he was a
man too brave to be cruel to anything within his
power, and too w^ ell-bred and well-born to be in-
fluenced by sordid motives," while Adjutant-Gen-
eral Cooper, an officer of acknowledged character
and reliability, writes that "he was an honest, up-
right, and humane gentleman." I do not propose
to go into the question of the treatment of prison-
ers during the war, and J will dismiss the subject

IN THREE CONTmENTS. 259

with the following observations : Prisoners of war,
as a rule, complain of the treatment which they
have received. The Confederate soldiers who were
confined in Northern prisons told similar stories of
hardship and atrocities ; the South was completely
drained of its resources, and was too poor to supply
its own soldiers with common necessaries, instru-
ments and medicines, while hospital stores were
early made contraband of war ; the policy of a non-
exchange of prisoners did not originate with the
South, and was in direct conflict with its interests,
and, lastly, the attributes of real bravery and of
positive cruelty are incompatible in themselves, and
the South points to its record on the battle-field as
an answer to the charge of intentional unkindness
to those whom the chances of war placed in its
power.

In the various positions which I had the honor
to occupy during the war, I was brought much in
contact with prisoners, and especially with those
who had been wounded, and I can say with my
hand upon my heart that I invariably treated them
with the greatest kindness. Of suffering men I
never asked to which side they belonged or cared
for the color of the uniform they wore, but I minis-
tered to all as if they were my friends and brethren.
Had I acted differently I should have failed to inter-
pret the feelings and wishes of the two great men
under whom it was my privilege to serve^ Robert E.
Lee and Zebulon B. Yance, the finest types of
Christian gentlemen I have ever known.

I saw nothing of the ''guns commanding the
Potomac," of which I had heard so much in Balti-
more, but I found Alexandria in a state of demorali-
zation, as it had been abandoned by the Southern
forces in view. of an expected advance from Wash-

2B0 A doctor's experiences

ington, which actually took place a few days after-
ward .

I reached Richmond without mishap, and put up
at the Exchange Hotel, which was then the head-
quarters of the coming Confederate army. I say
the ** coming" army, for though the greatest ex-
citement prevailed, and every one talked of dying
for his country, there was nothing approaching to
a regular organization in existence. In truth, it
is almost impossible to describe the condition of
things in Richmond at that time. All business
seemed suspended ; flags bearing strange devices
floated from every house-top ; tlie air w^as filled
with tbe strains of martial music ; crowds of citi-
zens with palmetto twigs or blue cockades in their
hats, and armed with rifles or shot-guns or rusty
swords, paraded the streets by night and day ; regi-
ments of soldiers were constantly arriving, clad in
fantastic uniforms, bearing banners adorned with
pictures of the rattle-snake, wearing caps upon
wdiich the words ^ liberty or death" w^ere printed,
and with huge bowie knives slung at their sides ;
the bar-rooms were filled with tipsy patriots boast-
ing of the 'Spiles of Yankees" they were to kill
daily ^'before breakfast," and of the revels they
were soon to hold in Faneuil Hall ; the wildest
rumors of the most improbable things startled or
delighted the populace at every moment, and a
species of insanity — military and political — seemed
to possess the popular mind, and to illustrate itself
in the most fantastic performances and exaggerated
manifestations.

Virginia had not formally seceded from the
Union, but she had practically sided with her
Southern sisters, and her capital had become the
focus of the intense excitement which prevailed
throughout the South and the rallying point for

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 261

tlie fierce volunteers who believed that their mis-
sion was to ^^ take Washington" forthwith and to
"annihilate the North" in a single campaign.

All of this exaggeration of sentiment — this su-
perfluity of "froth and foam" — really surprised
and alarmed me, for I fully appreciated the power
and the earnestness of the great people against
whom the South was arrayed, and I feared that
the wild demonstrations which I witnessed daily
indicated an entire absence of that appreciation
upon the part of those whose lives and liberties
were involved in the approaching struggle. Filled
with these misgivings I sought my relative, Mr,
James A. Seddon — who subsequently became the
Confederate war minister, and who was a clear-
headed man as well as an "original secessionist'*
— and expressed my apprehensions to him. He
reassured me somewhat by answering in this wise:
"All great wars have been ushered in by just such
exhibitions. Human nature is often fantastic
when it is most in earnest. It is true that South-
ern blood is naturally warm and Southern brains
impressionable, bnt if you were in Boston to-day
you would see similar demonstrations. You would
see people 'taking the oath' after every meal^
hurrahing over ' the old flag ' at all the street
corners, singing themselves hoarse with 'the Star-
Spangled Banner,' partitioning off 'Southern plan-
tations' as if they already owned them, and en-
gaged, in fact, in an infinitude of senseless antics
and ludicrous performances. Both sides have gone
crazy with excitement and passion, bpt they are
not the less serious for all that. Remember that
Niagara is white with 'foam and froth' just
where the whgle river, in a raging and resistless
flood, sweeps over the great boulders and through
the mighty caverns which encumber its channel.

262 A doctor's experiences

Our people are in earnest — in terrible earaest — I
assure you. They 'mean fight,' and to the bit-
ter end — nothing less. While I am not one of
those who underrate the courage and the resources
of our adversaries. I see nothing in the situation to
alarm and discourage me, and you must not per-
mit yourself to doubt the issue. We may not
''take Washington' or 'burn Boston,' but we shall
maintain our rights and conquer our independence,
so sure as there is a God in heav^en."

To this I answered: " I hope sincerely you are
right, but you may depend upon it the excitement
which now fills to overflowing the popular mind
and prompts to such exaggeration of senti-
ment and excess of confidence will be sorely tried
before we reach the end of this matter. For my
own part, I wish the doctrine of secession had
never been heard of, and that our country could
have remained as ,our fathers left it, prosperous,
happy and united. But, as the issue has been
made between the two sections — thank God, by no
agency of mine — every sentiment of my nature and
aspiration of my soul is with the land of my birth
and the people with whom I have been reared, and
I would have nothing done or left undone which
could by any possibility rob us of the victory."

On the succeeding day I saw Governor Letcher,
and presented my letter asking for arms. I can-
not say that he treated me rudely, but he declared
peremptorily that he had no muskets to spare, as
he needed all in the State for his own people. At
the same time lie launched out into a harangue,
the gist of which ^was that everything depended on
Virginia, upon whose action ''the eyes of the
world were turned ' ' and the fate of the Confeder-
acy centered. I came to the conclusion that he
might be a true Virginian, but that he was not

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 263

the man for me to waste time and breath upon ;
and I bade adieu to his excellency as precipitately
as the rules of courtesy would allow.

He was a tall, gaunt man, with a rubicund face,
and a hickory-nut looking head , upon which scarcely
-a strand of hair was discoverable. His prompt re-
fusal of the President's requisition for troops with
which to coerce the seceding States, and the in-
fluence which he exerted with the convention in
behalf of the ordinance of secession, made him popu-
lar with his own people, who still greatly revere
his memory.

My visit to Ealeigh was much more agreeable in
itself and fortunate in its results. Governor Ellis
received me with cordiality, and promptly granted
the request which I bore to him. In a word, he
acted like a gentleman and a patriot — showing not
less devotion to his own people than sympathy
with those for whom I pleaded. He had married
Miss Mary Daves, of New Berne, an old friend of
mine and one of the loveliest women in the State,
and I have always believed that her kind interces-
sion had something to do with the Grovernor's
prompt response in the matter of the muskets.
Five hundred rifles were packed to be sent to Kich-
mond, but the complexion of things having materi-
ally changed in the mean time, the arms were turned
over to Mrs. Bradley Johnson for the use of the
first Maryland regiment which organized under the
Confederate flag. I lingered a few days in Ealeigh ,
listening to the debates in the convention on the
occasion of the passage of the ordinance of secession,
and discussing with old friends the topic of the
coming war, and I then paid a hurried visit to my
friends and family at Edenton.

On my return to Richmond, en route to Baltimore,
I met a large number of 'those whom I had left

264 A doctor's experiences

there under arms, and learned from them the sad
story of the possession of that city by Butler and
his troops, the treason of many who had pretended
to an ardent sympathy with the Southern cause,
the imprisonment of the secession members of the
Legislature, and the closure of all the ordinary
routes of travel leading to the city. Although it
was my purpose to link my fortunes with those of
the South eventually, I desired to return to Balti-
more in order to make arrangements for a final
departure — which you can well understand, from
the fact that I had left my office open with every-
thing I possessed exposed, and that the time was-
approaching for my tour of duty in the infirmary
of the University of Maryland.

While preparing to reach Baltimore by what wa&
familiarly styled the underground route — by run-
ning the blockade of the Potomac, and then clan-
destinely traveling through the country — I was
astonished by the arrival of letters from the authori-
ties of the college, which stated that they had made
arrangements with the Federal commander to re-
ceive into their hospital the sick and wounded of
his army. In other words, that our infirmary had
been transformed into a United States hospital,.
and that its medical and surgical attendants had
become ipso facto the paid agents of the Federal
Government. It was also insisted that I should
return, in order to assist^in carrying out the terms
of that contract.

I immediately answered to the effect that I re-
garded the contract, with the service it entailed, as
not less insulting to me than ruinous to the school ;
that they had neither the legal nor the moral right
to use property in which I had chartered rights for
such a purpose without my previous knowledge and
consent ; that although as a matter of pure

1

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 265

humanity I was willing to give my professional
services to sick and wounded men without consider-
ing their antecedents or connections, I could not do so '
as a matter of business and for a pecuniary consider-
ation withonthecommg particeps criminis with those
whose mission w^as to murder and to rob my own
people ; that in view of the facts of the case I per-
emptorily refused to assist in carrying out their
contract with the Federal authorities, and that
when I did return — as I hoped to do in time to re-
sume my regular course of lectures, and with a
victorious army — I should leave the question at
issue to the arbitrament of the Southern men who
accompanied me to Baltimore, as they could best
appreciate my feelings and take in the whole situa-
tion.

A few days afterward I received another letter,
in which I was threatened with expulsion if I did
not resume my duties in the institution by the 10th
day of May — a date which had already passed when
the communication reached me.

Notwithstanding this threat, no action was taken
against me until after the battle of Gettysburg,
when it was made evident that I would never ^'re-
turn with a victorious army" — the fate of the Con-
federacy having been sealed upon that fatal field.

An application was then made to the board of
visitors_, which body alone had the right to declare
a chair vacant, to displace me upon the ground of
my prolonged absence, or, in other words, connec-
tion with the Confederate army. But though com-
posed mainly of Union men, the board declined to
take action in the case, when my colleagues,
without the shadow of legal authority or the form
ot an impeachment, formally deposed me, and pro-
ceeded to the election of my successor. Such was
my punishment for having repudiated this obnox-

266 A doctok's experiences

ious contract with the Federal authorities, and for
having served a cause for which they professed the
deepest sympathy.

This question having thus heen disposed of I
hastened to Raleigh and offered my services to my
native State, feeling that though I had sacrificed
my property and my position, I had preserved my
honor and had vindicated my independence of char-
acter in the course pursued.

The secretary of state, Mr. Warren Winslow^
was de facto the executive of North Carolina, as
the failing health of the governor prevented him
from giving attention to public affairs, and he
proved himself a most intelligent and efficient offi-
cer. Among the plans which he elaborated for the
public defense was one for the organization of a
small navy in the sounds along the coast, which
was accomplished b}' equipping a number of steam-
boats and sailing vessels, and placing them under
the command of the officers who had resigned from
the United States Navy. Of this organization I
was made surgeon-in-chief, with orders to report to
Captain Murphy, at Portsmouth, North Carolina,
where a naval station had been established.

After four months of uneventful service on the
coast, and just in time to escape capture at Hatteras,
I left for Richmond in order to obtain a position
in the Confederate army, as I was weary of inac-
tion and desired some real surgical work. Indeed,
my occupation was gone, as the "North Carolina
navy" had been turned over to the Confederacy.

Speaking of Hatteras reminds me of my expe-
rience there and of the mementoes of it which I
brought awa}^ with me. Just at the point where
the ocean and the sound approach nearest to each
other and a shallow inlet then existed, two forts
had been built and a battalion was stationed. The

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 26*7

human mind can scarcely conceive of the loneli-
ness and desolation of the place. Imagine^ if you
can, a narrow strip of land interposed between two
great wastes of water — one-half consisting of a
hog with a few stunted trees and shrubs scattered
over its surface and peopled with innumerable frogs
and snakes, and the remainder composed of sand
so impalpable as to be lifted in clouds of dust by
every passing breeze, and you will have some idea
of the topography of that God-forgotten locality.
I went there on a tour of inspection, which I made
as brief as possible, I assure you, for in addition to
the desolation to which I have referred the mos-
quitoes held possession of it by day and night,
blackening the air by their presence, and making
it vocal with their eternal hum. A sable cloud
composed of myriads of these insects, and visible
for a considerable distance, hovered over the head
of every living thing that stood or walked upon
that dreary shore^ and while one laborer worked
upon the fortifications another had to stand by him
"svith a handful of brush to keep him from being
devoured by them. The poor mules looked as if
they had been drawn through key-holes and then
attacked with eruptions of small-pox. Sleep could
only be had by stuffing one's ears with cotton
ancl enveloping the entire body in blankets, and
even then it was 'difficult to escape the search of
these voracious and insatiable blood-suckers. Luck-
ily the surgeon in charge had been given a bunk
on a little steamer moored some distance from the
shore, while he had provided himself with a double
netting, and though |le shared both bunk and net-
ting with me I found on the succeeding morning
that my face and hands were covered with an erup-
tion which resembled that of a full blown varicella.
Such were the mementoes which I carried from
Hatteras and retain still in my memory.

268 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XVIII.

AVAR EXPERIENCES.

My Dear Doctor:

I found things greatly changed in Richmond.
It had become the seat of' the Confederate govern-
mentj and the confusion and extravagance of other
days had given place to order and calmness. The
soldiers in transitu seemed more determined and
less demonstrative than their predecessors ; fewer
people were in the streets and more in the service ;
the bar-rooms were comparatively deserted, and
every one looked the embodiment of sobriet}^ ; and
in a word, the influence of military discipline and
the effect of the actual shock of battle could be
seen upon all classes and in every direction. The
battle of Manassas had just been won, and, though
it evoked a feeling of profound satisfaction among
all classes, it rather quelled than stimulated that
spirit of intense self-confidence and supreme con-
tempt for the foe from which I had augured so un-
favorably on my first visit.

It was felt that Southern valor had triumphed
over immense odds, but, in the presence of the
long list of the dead and wounded which the rec-
ord of the fight revealed, there came the realiza-
tion that the '^ march to Boston," which an ex-
cited people had so wildly raved about, was no
holiday excursion or' boyish pastime. It is true
that the demand for a forward movement — for
taking advantage of the victory and pressing

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 269

on to the National capital — was universal, but it
was felt that the army had serious work before it,
and that the people of the North were booked for a
long and a desperate fight.

It delighted me to find that this awakening to
reason — this realization of the situation — had come
already, for, to my mind, it was the death of an
infatuation which invited and entailed disaster,
and the birth of a sentiment which was the earnest
and the assurance of ultimate victory.

The hospitals were filled with the sick and
Avounded, and it cheered my heart to find that all
deficiencies as regards means and materials for
their treatment were compensated for by the ten-
der care with which the ladies of the city watched
and nursed tliem. It seems to me that those were
most fortunate who did not survive that memora-
ble epoch in the history of the war, for they went
to their final rest ministered to by loving hands,
believing that they were heroes and martyrs, and
in the full assurance that the ^^ bonny blue flag"
was destined to wave victoriously over a happy and
independent people.

I was presented to the President by the Hon.
Robert H. Smith, of Alabama — my father's former
pupil, and at that time a member of the Confeder-
ate Congress — who immediately had me commis-
sioned a surgeon in the army ; and on the suc-
ceeding day I was ordered by the surgeon-general
to report for duty at the University of Virginia.

I had heard much complaint against the gov-
ernment for its failure to order a forward move-
ment immediately after the victory at Manassas,
and it was not until I reached Charlottesville and
ascertained the actual condition of the army that I
learned to appreciate the true reason of its appar-
ent supineness.

270 A doctor's experiences

The army was. literallyj in a state of disorgan-
ization, in consequence of the immense number of
its sick and wounded and because of the impotency
of its medical organization.

Although more than two weeks had elapsed
since the battle, large numbers of disabled soldiers
were still being sent from the field or its vicinity,
most of whom had received only the scantiest at-
tention, while many of their comrades in the hos-
pitals were actually in a dying state from the want
of operations which should have been performed
immediately.

In the town of Charlottesville alone — scattered
through hotels, private houses, public halls, and
wherever a blanket could be spread — there were
more than twelve hundred cases of typho-malarial
fever. In fact, from what I could gather, the
whole country, from Manassas Junction to Rich-
mond in one direction, and to Lynchburg in an-
other, was one vast hospital, filled to repletion with
the sick and wounded of Beauregard's victorioufj
army. The unusual percentage of wounded was
due to the circumstance that the battle had been
fought in the open field and decided by a succes-
sion of brilliant charges against an enemy which
fought with desperate courage and tenacity.

The great amount of sickness was attributable to
the fact that the force engaged was almost exclu-
sively composed of delicately-reared young men,
who were incapable of sustaining the hardships
incident to camp life, supplemented by the entire
absence of such a23pliances as are essential to the
comfort of soldiers in the field, and by an utter
neglect of the laws of sanitation and hygiene.
While 23ossessed by the excitement incident to
their new carters, they forgot their corporeal exist-
ence, and gave no heed to its demands or neces-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 271

sities, but reaction came with victory, and they
succumbed to its debilitating influences. It re-
sulted, therefore, that for many weeks regiments
which had contained their full complement of seem-
ingly vigorous men, were so disintegrated and dis-
organized as to render it impossible for the army
to reap the fruits of a victory which its valor had
so fairly won.

In S23eaking of the inefficiency of the medical
department of that period, I do not mean to cast
the slightest reflection upon the individuals who
composed it ; for more competent, devoted and pa-
triotic men never honored any service. I only mean
to imply that they were small in number, deficient
in organization, and unsupplied with such mater-
ials as the exigencies of the situation demanded.
Besides, there were questions of rank, precedent,
scope of duty and obligations, relations between
State and Confederate authority, and a thousand
important problems, of which no solution had then
been attempted, and without a settlement of which
there necessarily resulted both embarrassment and
inefficiency. Having been hastily improvised as a
corps, and being left to crystallize of itself without
the adventitious assistance of fixed methods and
definite regulations, it was immediately called
upon to face a responsibility unprecedented in the
magnitude of its proportions and the infinitude of
its requirements ; and it is not to be wondered at
that the medical staff of the army found itself con-
fused, embarrassed and paralyzed on that occasion.

How the questions to which I have referred were
eventually settled, and what noble work for science,
humanity and ''the cause" was accomplished in
the end under the influence of the master spirits
who controlled it — under the tutelage of Moore,
Guild, Ford, McGuire, Coleman, Hammond, Sor-

272 A doctor's experiences

rell, Gaillard, Smith, Owens, Haywood, Campbell,
Chopin, Logan and other siirgeous of like genius
and equal patriotism — I wdll leave to the coming
historian of the great struggle to chronicle, con-
tenting myself with the assertion that, when the
story shall be faithfully written, one of its proudest
pages will be reserved for the services, the sacrifices
and the triumphs of the medical staff of the Con-
federate Army.

I had a surfeit of surgical experience in my new
field of labor, for I found myself in the presence of
wounds of every description and of all degrees of
gravity. I performed, consequently, a great num-
ber of operations and treated an endless variety of
complications — the development of which you can
well understand in view of the circumstances
which I have already explained.

I recently received, through the American
Minister residing in Paris, the last volume of the
Surgical History of the Rebellion (sic,) which the
authorities at Washington have prepared and pub-
lished, and, in looking over it, I find an account
of one of my own operations, which I will reproduce
in these pages, as it is interesting in itself and
because of its associations :

^' Private T. H. Wolf, company D, 4th Virginia,
had his femur shattered in the battle of Bull Run
by a musket ball which traversed the upper part of
the thigh in anantero-posterio direction, and strik-
ing the femur four indie's below the trochanters,
shattered it quite to the neck. The patient was re-
moved to Charlottesville University of Virginia,
and was received in the general hospital at that
place on July 24th. The fracture was treated by
Smith's anterior suspensory splint, and this mode
of dressing proved very serviceable for a time.
The inflammatory phenomena did not abate, how-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 273

€ver, and after four weeks it was decided that the
removal of the limb at the coxo-femoral articulation
alone afforded a hope of saving the patient's life.
On August 21st the operation was performed by
Brigadier-General Edward Warren, Surgeon-Gen-
eral of North Carolina, and was rapidly executed
by the double-flap method, with inconsiderable
hemorrhage. On the following day there was
^slight hemorrhage. Death from exhaustion ensued
on August 23, 1861, thirty hours after the opera-
tion. The constitutional condition of the patient
was unfavorable, and he was suffering from col-
liquative diarrhoea."

How the narration of this case recalls the inci-
dents of those memorable days! I can see before
me the great rotunda filled with hastily-con-
structed beds, bearing the forms of brave boys who
had fought and suffered for their country's sake;
the weeping women keeping vigils over their own
loved ones or ministering to "somebody's darling"
dying far away from the friends who loved him ;
the surgeons and their assistants moving through
the wards, now uttering a word of cheer, or pre-
paring for an operation, or shaking their heads
omniously as the cases before them suggested ;
and the faithful negro attendants bearing carefully
and sorrowfully away all that remained of the
martyrs who had so recently left their homes,
filled with martial ardor, and dreaming of the hour
when they would return, crowned with ;the wreaths
of victory. And I recall with especial distinctness
poor Wolf, to whose case the reference has been
made, and whose name is thus destined to be linked
with my own while the surgical history of the war
shall remain. He was acountry boy, who at the first
tap of the drum had left the j)lough in the furrow
18 '

274 A doctor's experiences

and hurried to the front — to receive his death-wound
in the first battle of the war.

At first his vigorous constitution, sustained by a
brave and self-reliant spirit, seemed equal to the
demand made upon its vitality by the profuse sup-
puration which ensued. But gradually symptoms
of septic poisoning appeared, and in the hectic
iiush^ the yellow conjunctiva, the rapid emaciation,
the vicissitudes of temperature, and the colliqua-
tive diarrhoea which presented themselves, I recog-
nized a crisis which presented the alternatives of
certain death without surgical interference, and the
barest possibility of saving his life by the removal
of his limb at the hip joint. A consultation was
held, and it was unanimously determined that these
fearful alternatives should be frankly presented to
the patient in order that he might decide between
them. Few tasks have fallen to me more painful
than that which constrained me to inform this
vouns: man of how near he was to death, and of
what little hope remained of rescuing him, even by
invoking all the resources of surgery. He received
the announcement like a hero. A few tears trickled
down his wasted cheeks, and, taking my hand
tenderly in his, he said : "I am not afraid to die.
doctor, but amputate for my mother's sake^ for she
would like to see her boy again." I felt that I
would give my right arm to save him, and I re-
solved that nothing should be wanting to make the
operation itself a success. I removed the limb in
three minutes, and first compressed and then li-
gated the vessels so effectually as to lose only a
teacup of blood, and for thirty hours I remained at
his side watching' ever}' symptom, and endeavoring
to meet it. For the first fifteen hours everything
w^ent well, and my heart began to thrill with hope
and exultation. Suddenly a slight capillary hem-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 275

orrhage occurred, and although it was immediately
arrested by the application of cold compresses, a
condition of depression resulted which gradually
deepened into a collapse, and the poor fellow
breathed his last a few hours afterward. Had I
known then as much as I do now of the value of
the transfusion of blood, I should have resorted to
it as affording another chance at least to the poor
fellow in his dire extremity, for I have since wit-
nessed wonderful results from it in the most des-
perate circumstances. As I write these lines Paris
is threatened with an invasion of cholera, and
should it arrive I am resolved to treat such cases as
may fall into my hands by introducing morphia
and sulphuric ether hypodermically, administering
oxygen gas by inhalation, and transfusing the
blood of some healthy individual.

Of course I had no reason to be surprised at the
fatal conclusion of this hip-joint operation. Under
the most favorable circumstances the mortality from
it is very great. All of the operations of this char-
acter performed by the English surgeons in the
Crimea terminated fatally, while of the one hun-
dred and eighty-three cases collected by Otis from
the statistics furnished by all countries, one hundred
and sixty-seven died and only sixteen recovered,
giving a ratio of mortality of 91.2 per cent.

The conduct of the wounded excited my most
profound admiration. A sentiment of genuine
heroism pervaded those southern boys which was
simply sublime. Each regarded liimself as a mar-
tyr to a holy cause, and seemed proud of the blood
which he had shed for it and even of the death
which he was called upon to die in its behalf. Un-
der the spell of this patriotic enthusiasm there was
no murmuring because of the want of comforts and
conveniences, or over the fate which condemned

276 A doctor's experiences

them to suffering and to mutilation, or at the de-
cree which banished them forever from home and
friends and comrades, but with brave hearts and
smiling countenances they met their doom, sus-
tained by the reflection that they had done their
duty like men and soldiers — that they had fought
■and bled for the land which they loved.

I was likewise delighted with the manner in
which the professors demeaned themselves. Some
of them had entered the army at the first call for
volunteers, and were " at the front" when the ava-
lanche of wounded and dying men overwhelmed
the University, but those who remained behind
acted w^ell their part in this trying emergency.
Their devotion to the suffering soldiers, their cour-
tesy to the medical officers on duty and their sym-
pathy for those who came in search of their stricken
relatives well illustrated the virtues which have
so long distinguished the Virginia people, and es-
tablished for themselves proud reputations as pa-
triots and humanitarians. They welcomed every
Confederate soldier as a friend, and nursed him
with absolute fidelity and tenderness, while their
private houses were thrown open and a hospitality
was dispensed from them which knew neither limit
nor discrimination. Having known me in my
student days their reception was most cordial, and
the recollection of it has always been a green spot
in my memory. I particularly recall the courtesy
extended to me by Professors Davis, Minor and
Scheie de Vere, and while leaving the record of
my gratitude to them I can but express a regret
that the opportunity has never occurred for a prac-
tical manifestation of my appreciation of their
kindness.

Among the University soldiers two especially
distinguished themselves. I refer to Professor

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 27T

Charles Venable and to Professor Lewis M. Cole-
man— tlie former a colonel on General Lee's staff,
and the latter the lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Vir-
ginia regiment of artillery. No man in the Army
of Northern Virginia saw more of active service
or commanded a larger share of the confidence
of its great leader than Colonel Venable, and he
still lives, an ornament to his alma mater, an honor
to the land of his nativity, and one of the brightest
lights in the world of science. Unfortunately
Lieutenant-Colonel Coleman sealed his devotion to
the cause in his life's blood, but not until he had
exhibited qualities as a soldier not less conspicu-
ous than those which in private life rendered him
a model as a teacher and a paragon as a gentle-
man.

Colonel Venable was one of my classmates, and
after a friendship of more than thirty years' dura-
tion I can but bear emphatic testimony to the gen-
iality of his disposition, the loyalty of his charac-
ter, and the depth and grasp of his intellect. One
of the most pleasant incidents of my life abroad
has been a visit which he recently made to Paris.
How " the old time came over me" when I saw
again his smiling face and heard his merry laugh
and listened to the stories of college days, and of
the good fellows we had known and loved when we
w^ere boys together. What a flood of memories
his very name unsealed, recollections of the dreams
of youth, of the struggles of manhood, of the in-
cidents of the times which tried men's souls, and
of the faces and forms of those who were once so
full of hope and promise, but who have been sleep-
ing many a long year beneath the sod ! To meet
him thus in this land of strangers after so many
years of separation was a source of irifinite pleas-
ure— it was like the continuation of some interest-

278 A doctor's experiences

ing story, tlie reading of which had been broken off
in the " lang syne.'"

I was not so intimately acquainted with Colonel
Coleman, but I knew him well enough to appreciate
his character and to mourn his loss.

With his brother, Dr. Eobert Coleman, I was on
intimate terms for man}^ years — from our first
meeting at the University in 1850 to his death in
February last, and I am sure you will excuse me
for paying a passing tribute to his memory.

The two brothers, Lewis and Robert Coleman,
were of a type which is especially Virginian, and
they resembled each other wonderfully in mind,
character and person. As I knew Robert he was
above the medium height, but so redundant of adi-
pose as to appear below it. His head was large,
symmetrical, and covered with curling flaxen hair;
his face was like the moon at full term, and was
illuminated by the brightest of blue eyes and the
sunniest of smiles, and his voice was at once deep,
sonorous and peculiarly sympathetic. His flow of
spirits was spontaneous and irresistible ; his wit
was as bright as a blade of Damascus and as trench-
ant ; his intellect was equally logical and rhetori-
cal ; his thoughts instinctively weaving themselves
into a chain of iron which seemed only a wreath
of flowers, and his bosom was a nursery in which
all kindly sentiments and generous impulses and
exalted virtues grew in the richest luxuriance. I
never knew him to have an enemy, for calumny
seemed to recognize him as a mark too exalted for
its shafts, while malignity transformed itself into
admiration under the spell of his frank and chival-
rous spirit. Alike in public positions and in pri-
vate relations, the inherent loyalty of his nature
loomed up so conspicuously — made itself so felt
and appreciated — that ever}" man who was brought

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 279

into contact with him esteemed it an honor to be
called his friend and a badge of respectability to
possess his confidence.

Such was Robert Coleman, and so he will be re-
membered— an honor to the State which he loved
to idolatry, to the profession whose noblest attri-
butes he illustrated, and to that Christianity which
he gloried in professing. He acted well his part
on earth and he has gone to receive his reward in
heaven.

Among my professional colleagues was a gentle-
man who bore an honored name, and upon whom
nature had also impressed the stamp of her true
nobility. I refer to Dr. Orlando Fairfax, who
had left his extensive practice and his comfort-
able home in Alexandria to devote himself to the
cause of the Confederacy. His father was right-
fully Lord Fairfax, but, being an American citi-
zen, he followed the tradition of his family and
never claimed the title, though it is still recognized
in the Peerage of England. It is said that "blood
will tell,'' and it never expressed itself more dis-
tinctly than in the courtly bearing, the noble sim-
plicity and the fidelity to the requirements of duty
which distinguished Dr. Fairfax, I regret to
record that he was called upon to bear a great af-
fliction during the war in the loss of his son Ran-
dolph, a most promising young man, who served
with conspicuous gallantry as a private, and was
killed by a fragment of the same shell which gave
Colonel Coleman his death wound.

I met also for the first time thsit rara-avis in the
field of Southern medicine, a female physician, in
the person of Miss Moon, a native of Albemarle
County, Virginia, and a graduate of the Woman's
Medical dollege of Philadelphia. She was a lady
of high character and of fine intelligence, and,

280 A doctor's experiences

tliongh she failed to distinguish herself as a phy-
sician, she made an excellent nurse, and did good
service in the wards of the hospital. Unfortun-
ately for her professional prospects she fell in love
with one of our assistant surgeons, and compro-
mised matters by marrying him and devoting her-
self to the care of her own babies — like a sensible
woman. Imagine, if you can, the position of this
young lady, with much of native modesty and re-
finement in her composition, in a hospital of
wounded soldiers, and with only medical officers
as her companions, and you will have eliminated
a most potent argument against the inappropriate-
ness of a woman becoming a doctor. In my hum-
ble judgment, no one possessing a womb or en-
dowed with the attributes of femininity ought to
dream of entering the ranks of the medical profes-
sion, and Dr. Moon's experience at Charlottesville
teaches a lesson in this regard which her aspiring
sisters would do well to heed and appreciate.

The possibility of matrimony and the probabil-
ity of maternity — the ends for which women were
created — raise a barrier in the pathway of those
who would thus enter upon the domain of medicine,,
which they should regard as nature's protest against
their intrusion. In a word, women were made not
to administer drugs nor to amputate limbs nor ta
engage in the arduous and exciting incidents of a
doctor's career, but to fill the sacred role of sister,
wife and mother — to render homes happy, and to
sustain, cheer and comfort men in the struggle of
life.

I also had the pleasure of renewing my acquaint-
ance with Mr. William Wirtenbaker, who for
more than thirty years was the college librarian
and the secretary of the faculty. He was a char-
acter sui generis, and yet as good and lo^-al a man

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 281

as ever lived. He loved the books under his charge
as if they were his children, and he watched over
them as tenderly. He could give the historj^ of all
who had attended the various schools, and could
recite incidents of their college lives which even
they had forgotten. He remembered the name and
the physiognomy of every matriculant, and he
could recognize and locate him without re-
gard to the date of his matriculation. He had
signed the diplomas of a large majority of the
graduates, and he watched the careers of '^ his
boys" with intense solicitude, rejoicing in their
triumphs or grieving at their misfortunes, as if
they were his own. Loais XIV gave expression to
his royal egotism in the memorable words " I'etat
c'est moi,'' and the old librarian, in the intensity
of his devotion to the institution and the innocent
vanity of his guileless nature, believed that he and
the University were one, and he habitually spoke
and acted as if the identification was complete.
He certainly loved it more than himself, and would
willingly have sacrificed his life to advance its in-
terests. In this sense, and notwithstanding hisloy-
alty to his section, it nearly broke his heart to see
its sacred halls conyerted into hospitals, and filled
with regiments of wounded soldiers rather than
with throngs of enthusiastic students. He re-
solved consequently that one department at least
should maintain its integrity despite of war's
alarms and obligations, and, true to the habits of a
life-time, he daily walked with stately tread to the
library and went on duty there as if the school were
in full blast and nothing had occurred to interrupt
the current of its curriculum.

His sons graduated with distinction in the Uni-
versity and fought gallantly in their country's
cause. One fills a soldier's grave in the college
cemetery, another achieved a reputation during th

282 A doctor's experiences

war which has since made him a leading man in
Virginia, and all have done honor to the good old
man from whom they inherited that strict con-
scientiousness and devotion to duty which were the
predominating traits of his character.

He lived to be an octogenarian, and died only
recently, universally honored and lamented.

So soon as I reached Charlottesville I sent for
my family and located them at Carr's Hill, a beau-
tiful spot in the immediate vicinity of the Univer-
sity. We were delightfully situated there, as the
house was commodious, the grounds were beautiful
and the company was select and charming. Under
the same roof was the Fairfax family, and the
Misses Gary, of Baltimore, two lovely girls wllo
distinguished themselves by their devotion to the
South. The elder of these sisters. Miss Hettie,
married General Pegram, one of the bravest sol-
diers produced by the Confederacy, and wore the
weeds of widowhood before her orange flowers had
faded. The first time that I ever heard the soul-
inspiring words of " My Maryland" they were
sung by her, and as her voice was exquisite, her
bosom aglow with patriotic fervor, and her face
radiant with the rarest beauty, the song inspired
and entranced me beyond expression.

She has remarried after a protracted widowhood
and many an earnest protest against it, and, for
one, I wish her the fullest measure of happiness
in return for the pleasure which she gave me by
sino'ing '' Mv Maryland'" at Carr's Hill in '62.

You have often heard me speak with enthusiasm
of Professor John Staige Davis, of the University
of Virginia, and I should be an unreliable histor-
ian if I failed to refer to him in this connection.
He has grown older of course since we separated
in 1850, but his heart has not changed in the least
degree. Taking him for all in all, I have never

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 283

known a better man or a more attractive lecturer.
'No one has done more to add to the popularity of
the University or to maintain its high character as
a school of learning than he. I have never met
with a physician who had studied at the University
without finding him a warm friend and an enthu-
siastic admirer of Dr. Davis, and I have yet to
hear the first word of criticism or censure respect-
ing him.

He held a surgeon's commission during the war,
and many a suffering soldier has reason to thank
heaven for the blessing of his skillful treatment
and his faithful ministrations.

He is yet spared to give credit to his alma mater,
to 'add dignity to his profession, and to do honor
to Virginia — the land of his birth and the home
of his warmest affections — and I sincerely hope that
many years of usefulness and happiness are still
reserved for him.

Professor John B. Minor, in utrumque paratus,
devoted himself to the care of the stricken sol-
diers and the consolation of their sorrowing friends,
and won from both a meed of praise and gratitude
which will prove a crown of honor while the record
remains^

Professor James L. Cabell, the surgeon in charge,
discharged the onerous duties of his position with
unfaltering zeal and conspicuous ability, and
thus added fresh luster to the reputation which he
had already won as a teacher, a scientist and a
gentleman.

In a word, there was no faltering upon the part
of any one, and all — whether male or female, white
or black — who had work to do, did it nobly and
faithfully. The Southern people can never forget
the services rendered to them by the University of
Virginia in that sad hour of their suffering and
afiiiction.

i

284 A doctor's experiexces

' LETTER XIX.

WAR EXPERIENCES.

My Dear Doctor :

After several months of service at the University
and when only fever cases remained for treatment,
I became weary of the life there and applied for new
orders. Fortunately I had won the confidence of
Surgeon L. Guild, an officer of distinction who had
resigned from the United States Army, and of
whom I shall have much to say hereafter, and
through his kind offices I was transferred to Rich-
mond, and made a member of a board of inspec-
tion and supervision of which he was president.

The other members of this board were Surgeon
F. Sorrell and Surgeon J. P. Logan — two thor-
ough ojentlemen and accomplished .physicians.

It was our daily duty first to visit and inspect
the hospitals of Richmond, and then to devote our-
selves to the examination of all soldiers who had
been recommended for furlough or discharge by
the medical officers in the field.

This work was exceedingly onerous, and yet I
was delighted with it, both because of the agree-
able society of my colleagues and of the amount
of pi'actical experience which it afforded, as we
were brought in constant contact with the wounded
and had an opportunity of operating whenever we
thought proper.

The Spottswood Hotel, at which I lived with my
wife and child, was the chief rendezvous of the offi-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 285

cers and officials, and I had an opportunity of see-
ing much of the society of the Confederate court.
I have neither the space nor the inclination to draw
a picture of the social life of Richmond during the
early days of the war, and I will content myself
with the observation that there is a plentiful sup-
ply of human nature in men and women wherever
they are found and whatever may be the circum-
stances by which they are surrounded. Jealousy,
too, was born with the primeval man or more prob-
4ibly with the original woman, and it will only
die with the last '' survivor." Resurgam has
been its motto from the beginning, and so it will
be to the end, in defiance of revolutions, whether
political, social or what not. If heart burnings
were somewhat indulged in and gossip did "un-
fold its tale" occasionally, they were amply atoned
for by the display of virtues which should have
done honor to any race or epoch, and by the per-
formance of deeds upon which heaven will smile
approvingly while the record endures.

The devotion which the women of the South dis-
played for " the cause" and the attentions which
they lavished upon the sick and wounded ha'^e no
]3arallel in history. These attentions, though ori-
ginating in the purest motives, were sometimes
€arried to extremes, interfering with the surgeon's
duties and militating against the best interests of
the patient. Quite an amusing story was told at
the time apropos of this excess of zeal and super-
fluity of ministrations. It was circulated in the
form of a dialogue between a sympathetic lady and
-a wounded soldier, and as such I will reproduce it
here :

Sympathetic lady : " My dear young man, will
jou let me wash your face this morning ?"

286 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

Wounded soldier : ''I am very tired and sleepy.
Please don't disturb me.,"

Sympathetic lady : " But I do feel so much for
you, my poor boy, and I want so much to wash
your face, just this once."

Wounded soldier : "But my wound pains me,
and I would like to be let alone."

Sympathetic lady : "I must do something for
you and for ' the cause ;' do let me wash your face for
your mother's sake."

Wounded soldier: "Well, madam, if you insist
upon it, wash away, but you are just the sixteenth
lady who has washed my face to-day, and all for
my mother's sake."

And, carried away by her enthusiasm, she
washed his face, believing that she was doing God's
service by the act. ^

Of course it was almost sacrilegious thus to make
a jest of so holy a thing as woman's sympathy for
the afflicted, but soldiers are the gayest of human
beings, and their propensity to laugh at every-
thing, even amid the most solemn surroundings^
seems to be absolutely irresistible. As an illustra-
tion of this I will tell one of Governor Vance's
stories : He relates that once having heard a regi-
ment which was in line of battle, and momentarily
expecting an attack, give way to the loudest shouts
and the wildest merriment, he stopped a ragged
veteran who was passing by, and asked what was
" the meaning of all the rumpus over the way?"

" Well, now, you see/' replied the soldier, "I haint
been thereabouts, and I cant zackly tell^ but I reckon
as how them boys is either flushed up a ' molly-
cotton-tail' (the popular name for a rabbit) or old
Stonewall is a passing by."

But, seriously the kindness displayed by the
women of the South toward the soldiers of the Con-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 287

federacy was most beautiful — was sublime. With-
out regard to the danger incurred, to tlie severity of
the service involved, or to the sacrifice demanded,
they were always prepared to minister to the sick
and wounded compatriots, and with a fidelity which
is without a precedent in the annals of warfare.

Nearly twenty years have passed since those
noble deeds were done, and many who participated
in them are now saints in heaven, but their coun-
try alike in the days of its ruin and of its recupera-
tion has kept the fires of gratitude brightly burn-
ing in their memory, as it will delight to do
throughout the coming generations, until the last
wave of time has broken upon the shores of eter-
nity.

After several months of work in Richmond I
was sent for by the surgeon-general and offered a
position on a medical examining board which he
was about to establish in North Carolina.

Love for my native State has always been a part
of my religion, and as agreeably situated as I was
in Richmond I eagerly embraced the opportunity
to return to North Carolina, and to serve her
people.

In a short time, therefore, I found myself installed
at Golds borough, doing duty on this board, in
association with Dr. Wyatt M. Brown, a brother
tar heel and a splendid fellow, and two others
whose names I will not give for reasons which will
appear in the progress of this narrative.

Our business was to examine all medical officers
serving in the department, and such medical men
as desired positions in the army. This work,
though pleasant enough in itself, was rendered ex-
ceedingly disagreeable because of the insane preju-
dice which the chairman of the board entertained
against North Carolina, and of his morbidly irri-

288 A doctor's experiences

table temper — the result I think of chronic dys-
pepsia. He only knew of the standard of attain-
ment existing in the old army, and he voted gen-
erally against those who failed to come up to its
requirements, especially if they chanced to be North
Carolinians. As a large majority of the appli-
cants had served for a long time in the field, where
text-books cquld not be obtained, they were neces-
sarily deficient in technicalities and details, and
hence the application of so rigid a test as that in-
sisted upon by the chairman was not only unfair
per se, but was calculated to deprive the army of
many of its best medical officers. The seances of
the board were consequently only a series of dis-
putes, in which Dr. Brown and I were arrayed on
the side of liberality and common sense, while the
other members adhered to exacting an impossible
standard of the United States Army.

It so happened that once every week our morbid
associate took a dose of purgative medicine and
that on the succeeding day he was usually some-
what less disagi-eeable to his associates and rather
more lenient toward those who presented themselves
for examination. We endeavored therefore — in the
interest of peace and justice — to persuade him that
the condition of his health demanded the exhibi-
tion of a daily cathartic, but the spirit of antagon-
ism was so rampant in his bosom that he not only
refused to take our advice, but gave up his weekly
pill of aloes and colocynth as well — to the infinite
annoyance of his colleagues and the sorrow of every
candidate who came forward during that period of
protracted constipation and morbid irritability.

All this was unpleasant enough in itself, but it
was rendered the more intolerable by the fact that
we were without redress or remedy, and were com-
pelled to submit to his prejudices and peculiarities.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 289

Luckily, the enforced absence of liis coadjutor
finally gave us the majority, and saved the medical
corps of the > department from disgrace and deci-
mation

Having received information that New Berne
was about to be attacked, we obtained authority to
visit it in order to render assistance to the wounded.
We slept at the Gaston House, and were awakened
early by heavy firing in the distance, but finding
it impossible to obtain conveyances to the battle-
field— which was about four miles from the town
and on the opposite side of the river — we went
to the Academy^ where the medical director had
established his head-quarters.

The firing continued, increasing in violence and
distinctness continually, and the wounded soon be-
gan to arrive. As we were busily engaged with
the work before us, and the reports from the field
were favorable, we never dreamed of danger to
ourselves or to those under our charge. Suddenly
a shell of large caliber exploded in such close prox-
imity to the hospital that some of the fragments
struck its roof.

" My God," cried the medical director, " the
fleet has passed the obstructions and is shelling the
town ; we shall all be. killed," and rushing to the
door, he mounted his horse and fled precipitately.

Some of. the surgeons became demoralized for a
moment, and seemed disposed to follow his ex-
ample, but placing myself against the door, I pro-
tested against their departure most emphatically.
This decisive action had the desired effect. They
immediately returned to their work and assured me
of their determination to stand by it to the last
extremity- -and they did so. We then went to the
front door to reconnoiter, and witnessed a scene
which is stamped indelibly upon my memory.
19

290 A doctor's experiences

A portion of the town was in flames, and vol-
umes of dense smoke darkened the air : the streets
were filled with fugitives, some mounted, others on
foot, rushing madly toward the station ; women
and children were pouring out of the houses, wring-
ing their hands, crying '^fire" and uttering the
wildest shrieks ; and eveything was in a state of
utter chaos and confusion.

Just at that moment a train of open cars, laden
with commissary stores, and under the charge of
an officer with whom I chanced to be acquainted,
came moving slowly from the direction of the
battle-field, and stopped within a few yards of the
hospital

Rushing to this officer, I told him of the flight
of the director, and earnestly implored permission
to place the wounded upon the train in order to
prevent them from falling into the hands of the
enemy. He kindly consented, informing me at the
same time that only a small force — a si ogle de-
tachment of marines fi'om the gun-boat which had
passed the obstructions — was actually in the town,
but that our troops were in full retreat, closely fol-
lowed by the enemy. Improvising stretchers from
doors and window-blinds, and seizing some wheel-
barrows which happened to be convenient, I soon
had the wounded placed upon the cars, and made
as comfortable as the circumstances would allow
upon mattresses and under blankets taken from the
hospital. Before I could get upon the train, how-
ever, it suddenly moved off, and I was left amid
the throng of frightened and fleeing fugitives.
Hurrying along with the rest, I arrived at the de-
pot only in time to see the last train disappear in
the distance, and to find myself apparently deprived
of all means of escape. Just as I regarded my
capture as certain, 1 had the good luck to find a

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 291

riderless horse — a long-legged, raw-bony gray,
which some soldier had abandoned for a place upon
the train — and climbing into the vacant saddle, I
dashed out of town, with my dyspeptic confrere
mounted behind me and at a speed which would
have 4;old in the Derby or the Grand Prix.

The scene upon the road beggars description — it
was the comhle of all that is expressed in the word
panic. For miles 1 encountered a confused mass of
officers, soldiers and civilians, mingled indiscrimi-
nately together — some without coats, others hat-
less, and a majority having no arms — in a state of
utter demoralization ; women and children hurry-
ing helter-skelter on foot or in every possible
vehicle, frightened nearly out of their wits ; and
carts, wagons, carriages and conveyances of every
imaginable description and condition, laden with
household goods — the Lares and Penates of many
a ruined family — hurrying along as fast as their
lashed and imprecated teams could drag them ;
while the earth was strewn with arms, accouter-
ments, hats, uniforms, domestic utensils and here
and there a jaded man and a foundered horse.
Every few moments the cry would sweep along the
disjointed line : " The Yankee cavalry is coming,"
and the surging mass would make a still more
desperate effort to increase its pace, or would scat-
ter into the bushes on either side of the road like
a covey of frightened partridges.

A panic must be witnessed and participated in to
be a]3preciated, and even then it cannot be described.
The men who were thus flying in terror from an
imaginary danger: — for the enemy possessed no
cavalry, and never dared to leave the town — proved
eventually the bravest soldiers the world ever
saw. From the Valley to Appomattox they left a
record of their heroism which the nations have re-

-"29 2 A doctor's experiences

'garded with admiration, and their own people will
treasure as the most precious of heir-looms.

Panics are nothing more or less than a species of
•emotional insanity temporaily affecting masses,
binder the influence of which manhood succumbs,
reason is silenced, and the fear of death prei:lom-
inates to the exclusion of every other sentiment and
consideration.

I can only express the hope that it may never be
my misfortune to witness another, and certainly not
to be called on to participate in one, for I have had
sufficient experience in that line to last for a life-
time— with a lap for the ""other side of Jordan" of
no insignificant proportions.

When about six miles from New Berne I had the
good fortune to overtake a confrere traveling in a
Ibuggy drawn by a fine team of horses, and I gladly
accepted an invitation to take a seat with him,
leaving the well-blown charger to the sole posses-
sion of my fellow-passenger, the aforesaid chairman
•of the medical examining board.

At Kinston, thirty miles from New Berne, I
•stopped for the night, all fear of the '^Yankee
■cavalry" having departed, and on the succeeding
•day traveled by tram to Goldsborough, which I
found filled to repletion with fugitives from the
fight, who in some mysterious way had managed
to make better time than the locomotive and to ar-
rive in advance of me. Among the recent arrivals
was the fugacious medical director, who it seems
was one of the first to enter the town, bringing with
him marvelous stories of his own gallant conduct
under fire and of the capture and destruction of his
comrades — the entire retreating army of General
Branch.

On the following day General Joseph R. Ander-
son assumed command of the department, and one

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 295

of his first acts was to issue a general order iu
which he alluded in complimentary terms to my
conduct at New Berne, and named me ''' acting
medical director of the Department of Cape Fear."

In the summer of 1862, while still on duty at
GrokUborough, business carried me to Richmond,,
where I found everything in a state of excitement
because of the attack which General Lee proposed
to make on General McClellan, who was then in-
vesting the city. I called at once on my old friend
Surgeon Guild, and was received with every mani-
festation of pleasure. " I am delighted to see you,
Warren, ' ' he said . ' 'The fight will begin to-morrow,
and I am ordered to organize an ' operating corps'
and to proceed to the field witli it. You must go
with me. I will take no refusal." '' Refusal, in-
deed!" said I; " nothing will give me more pleasure.
Only tell me where lean get a horse and I am at
your service." " As for that, there will be no
difficulty. Charles Bell Gibson is to accompany me,
and as he will drive one of his horses I will get
him to lend the other to you." I then took up my
quarters with him, and we devoted ourselves to*
making necessary arrangements — calling upon,
various surgeons to accompany us, and collecting
such instruments, stores and appliances as were re*
quired for the service.

At four o'clock on the next day we started for
the field, taking the Chicahominy road, and ridings
as far as our last battery on the Richmond side of"
the river. As the route was a long one, and every-
thing tranquil in the various camps which we
passed, it happened that first one surgeon and then
another dropped behind, either overcome by fatigue
or under the impression that there would be no
fighting that day. When we reached the battery,
consequently, only Surgeon Guild, Surgeon Cren-

294 A doctor's experiences

sliaw and myself constituted the party of ^^ special
operators."

Just as we rode up the report of a gun was heard
on the other side of the river ^ and Greneral D. H.
Hill, springing upoQ the parapet, gazed earnestly
and anxiously in the direction from which it had
come. A moment's glance seemed to satisfy him,
and waving his hand to his couriers, they dashed
off to announce as we soon discovered the supposed
arrival of " Stonewall'" Jackson from the Valley,
and to summon the troops to join in the precon-
certed attack upon the enemy.

Two batteries of artillery under the command of
Duke Johnston — an old college-mate and a gallant
soldier — were the first to get into position, and un-
limbering in the immediate vicinity of Mechanics-
viile, they began to play upon the astonished
enemy.

The road was immediately thronged with troops
hurrying eagerly to the " front" to take part in the
fight, and, as they belonged principally to D. H.
Hill's division, which had only recently served in
North Carolina, I received a friendly salutation
from nearly every officer and soldier who passed
by. Finally Colonel Gaston Mears, of Wilming-
ton, accompanied by several other officers, rode up
and said to me : "■ Dr. Warren, we are ' delighted
to see you here. Only our assistant surgeons- are
with us, as our surgeons with their ambulances are
in the rear, and apiDarently have not been informed
of what is going on ; you must come along and
look after us if we are wounded." ''Certainly,"
said I, ''it will give me the greatest pleasure to
accompany you," and turning to Dr. Guild, I
asked his permission to cross the river with the
troops. " You have no business over there, War-
ren," he answered, "and you will certainly get

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 295

killed if you go; for the enemy is shelling the road
from the bridge to the town, as yon can see for
y^ourself." ''But I must go, whatever the risk,"
I pleaded; ''for these men are my compatriots and
my personal friends, and they have appealed to me
to stand by them." " Well, if you are determined
to sacrifice your life I will go with you," was the
brave and loyal response of the coming medical
director of the Army of Northern Virginia.

We therefore took our places in the rear of the
•advancing column, and followed it over the bridge.
After running the gauntlet of the road we reached
a point beneath the hill where the troops were be-
ing formed preliminary to a charge upon the ene-
my's line at Ellison's mill, and where we found
General Lee and his staff. He was engaged in
conversation when we rode up, but immediately
a-fterward, attracted by some wounded men from
the batteries on the hill, he turned to his aide de
€amp. Colonel Charles Marshall* — an old college
friend, and one of the best and bravest officers in the
a,rmy — and asked: "Is there a medical officer
present?" "Yes, General, here is Dr. Warren,"
was Colonel Marshall's reply. General Lee then
turned to me and said : "I need a medical director,
and you must act as such, as you seem to be the only
medical officer available. I shall have the order is-
sued at the first practicable moment." For an in-
stant my brain reeled from excitement and gratifi-
cation, for this was a promotion above all that I
had dreamed of — it was the offer of the highest
medical position in the Army of Northern Virginia,

* Colonel Marshall is a oTandson and a worthy representa-
tive of Chief- Justice Marshall, of "S^irginia. He' bore olf the
highest honors of the University, greatly distinguished him-
self in the war, and is now one of the leaders of the Balti-
more bar. We have been warm friends for thirtv vears.

296 A doctor's experiexces

and it meant the identification of my name with
that of its great commander while history is to be
read. But, thank God! there was a sentiment in
my heart stronger than its ambition^ and potent
enough to keep me in the path of rectitude and
honor. I knew that Guild was entitled to the posi-
tion, and remembering that he was my friend and
benefactor, afeer a moment's struggle with myself
I said to General Lee : "I should be only too proud
and happy to serve you — to be the medical director
of this army — but Dr. Guild is here, and he is en-
titled to the promotion." ''You are right, sir, I
know Dr. Guild very well. Where is he?" was
his response. "Only a few paces in the rear ; we
came into the field together, and he has halted a
moment to speak to a friend. I will bring him at
once," I answered, as Dr. Guild appeared upon the
scene, unconscious of the honor in store for him,
and saluted the general. General Lee greeted him
warmly, for they were old comrades, and said ta
him : "I need a medical director, and I name you
for the position. Get to work immediately and
.make your arrangements for some heavy fighting."
" Many thanks, General, I will do my best to
merit your approbation/' was Guild's reply. Then
turning to me he asked: "What position do you
desire, Warren?" "Any position that will keep
me with you and give me a chance to see service
and to do something," I answered. Turning to
the General he said at once : " With your permis-
sion, General, I will make my friend Dr. Warren
the medical inspector of the army." General Lee
bowed in acquiescence, and thus by one of those
strange freaks of fortune which have so frequently
surprised and startled me in life I found myself
suddenly elevated to the second position of honor

m THREE CONTINENTS. 297

and responsibility in the medical staff of the Army
of Northern Virginia.

There hangs upon my office wall, framed elabor-
ately and treasured fondly, a dilapidated paper-
writing, which runs in this wise :

Battle-Field, June 21, 1862.
Special Order No. 3.

Surgeon E. Warren is detailed for duty as medi-
cal inspector of the hospitals of Northern Virginia,
and, will make daily reports of the condition of
these hospitals to tbe medical director.
By order of General Lee.

L. Guild, Surgeon C. S. A.,

Medical Director.

This order was written, as you will perceive, upon
the "battle-field" itself,while cannon werebelching
forth their deadly breath and bayonets were flash-
ing in the lurid sunlight, and the shouts of charg-
ing battalions were filling the air, and death was
holding high carnival around us ; and alike from
the circumstances under which it was promulgated
and the associations which cluster around it, it
possesses for me a value which cannot be computed
in figures expressed in language. Above the fir-
man of the Khedive of Egypt and the decree of
the President of the Republic of France — beyond
all the orders, medals and diplomas of which I
have been the recipient — I prize this simple sheet
of soiled and time-molded paper, with the scarcely
legible words which are written upon it, and I
have carried it in triumph with me in all my wander-
ings, and I shall leave it to my children as my
proudest and richest legacy.

Dr. Guild turned to me immediately and said :
"In God's name, Warren, what am I to do? I

298 A doctor's experiences

know nothing of the medical organization of the
army. I have not seen a surgeon or an ambulance
since I left Richmond, and it is now nearly night,
with a terrible fight on hand." ^' It is an embar-
rassing position," I answered, ''but there must be
a way out of it. The assistant surgeons with the
attacking regiments will certainly send their
wounded to Mechanicsville, and you had better
ride there at once and assume charge of them. I
remember having seen about two miles in the rear
at least fifty ambulances parked around an old
barn, and I have no doubt the surgeons are there
awaiting orders. I will go for them and order
them up." "All right. Gro for them at once, and
then join me as quickly as possible," he replied.

Putting spurs to my horse I dashed off like the
wind in search of the absent surgeons, and, luckily,
met them in the immediate neighborhood of the
bridge, as they had heard the firing and were has-
tening tow^ard it in obedience to an instinctive sense
of duty. Without waiting for them I returned
and joined Guild, who was already at work, and
who w^as delighted at seeing me again, especially
as I was the bearer of intelligence that greatly re-
lieved his anxiety and embarrassment.

I had hardly arrived when an aide-de-camp from
General Lee rode up, with orders to the medical
director to give onl}^ the first care to the wounded
at- Mechanicsville and then to transfer them with
all possible dispatch to ambulance trains which
awaited on the Central railroad to transport them
to Richmond ; and in so doing to avoid the road
over which the troops were to advance on the next
morning.

The entire night was spent in sending parties to
the field in search of the wounded, in giving those
who where brought in such attention as was abso-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 299

lutely necessary, and then in transporting them as
rapidly as possible to the trains just referred to.
The reason of this order, so far as it related to the
immediate transfer of the wounded, though not
apparent at the moment, became conspicuously evi-
dent shortly afterward, and in a manner which
left a lasting impression upon my mind.

Just before dawn a major-general and his suite
rode up to the principal hospital, gave their horses
to the couriers, and stretched themselves upon the
floor of the piazza, hoping to obtain some repose
after the labors of the night. Having sent the last
wounded man to the rear, and being utterly ex-
hausted from the combined effects of excitement and
overw^ork. Dr. Guild and I followed their example,
making a couch of the door-step, as the atmosphere
of the house itself was oppressive with heat and
odors. A few moments of profound silence elapsed,
when just as there was light enough to render
surrounding objects visible, we heard the report of
a musket followed by the thud of a conical ball as it
struck the house immediately above our heads. This
seemed to be the signal for a general attack upon the
building, for the enemy, not having been dislodged
by the assault of the previous evening — as General
Lee knew when he gave the order for the removal of
the wounded — immediately opened fire upon it with
artillery and musketry at short range. The effect
was terrific. In an instant one ot the couriers was
killed, several trees in the yard were shattered, a
chimney came tumbling down about us, fragments
of the roof flew in every direction, and the building
was rendered almost a wreck. Rushing to our
horses, and mounting them rapidly, we fled for our
lives, first through the dense wood in the rear, and
then over the open field, until we came to the main
road at the Chicahorainy bridge. The first person

300 A doctor's experiences

encountered there was General Lee, who, with his
staff, was riding in the direction of the scene of the
previous engagement. A snoile played over the old
man's countenance when he observed our plight
and precipitation, and as we drew in our foaming
horses and saluted him respectfully, he asked most
blandly : " Why so hurried this morning, gentle-
men?" Hearing a clatter behind us at this moment,
I turned and saw the general who had made the
piazza his bed chamber a little while before, accom-
panied by his staff officers and couriers, approach-
ing through the field at a pace fully as great as
ours had been, and quietly pointing to him, I re-
plied: '^General L. is in command, and he will
explain everything."

As we had dispatched the last wounded man to
the rear, and had nothing further to do at Mechanics-
ville, it would have been folly to remain there to
be killed in gloriously, and hence we deemed dis-
cretion the better part of valor under the circum-
stances, as did our companion in peril, who was
one of the bravest officers of the Confederacy.

A flank movement on the part of General Jack-
son quickly compelled the enemy to abandon his
position, and gave us at the same time the oppor-
tunity to remove such of the wounded as still re-
mained where they had fallen and to bury those
who had died in that bloody meadow.

While engaged in seeking the wounded I en-
countered a burial party from the Edenton com-
pany, and assisted them to inter several of its mem-
bers— boys whom I had known from their births
and whose parents were the friends of my childhood.

James Hawkins — the son of our village under-
taker and a fine young man in every way — could
only be recognized by his body, as his head had
been carried entirely away by a round shot.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 301

T also heard of the fatal wounding of their former
captain, T. L. Skinner^ who had been recently
promoted to the majority of his regiment and was
in his first fight. He was one of the wealthiest
men in Chowan County, and the direct descendant
of Gabriel Johnstone — a royal governor of North
Carolina — as well as a gentleman of the highest
character and of the most amiable disposition.
Closely related to my wife, he had celebrated our
marriage with a magnificent party at his country
seat near Edenton, and I had not only been his
family physician for years, but his friend for a life-
time.

It was with a sad heart, therefore, that I per-
formed my .work that diy, for visions of old Eden-
ton, with the associations which made it the dearest
spot on earth to me, filled my mind continually,
and yet I never had greater need of a clear head
and a steady hand. On the succeeding day occurred
the sanguinary battle of Gaines' Mills — or Coal
Harbor, as it w^as designated by McClellan in his
dispatches — and we were again flooded w^th
wounded men from both armies. Fortunately,
however, the medical director had completed the
organization of his department, and everything
w^orked without clash or confusion.

And so matters continued for a week — a furious
battle being fought every day, leaving upon the
field a sufficient number of wounded men to occupy
the surgeons until their places were supplied by
others from the succeeding fight and giving us
such an amount of labor to perform as to prevent
us from taking a sufficiency of food and from ob-
taining the necessary amount of sleep.

A culmination was finally reached at Malvern
Hill, where, after a desperate battle, the Federal
commander repulsed the Confederates and secured

302 A doctor's experiences

an opportunity to retreat to Harrison's Landing
under the protection of tlie river fleet. Just before
the fight began a corps of city surgeons — clad in
brilliant uniformSj and filled with professional
ardor — arrived at our field-hospital, and asked to
be assigned to duty for the occasion. At that pre-
cise moment two shells — the first fired from Mal-
vern— fell in quick succession within a few feet of
the party.

Guild was engaged ,in the amputation of a limb
at the time, and, with the cool courage which so
greatly distinguished him, he continued his work
as deliberately as if he were in the amphitheater
of a medical college. Our new recruits waited un-
til the operation was competed, looking as serious
as if they expected at any moment to be called to
their last account, and then suddenly remembering
certain important engagements in Richmond,
quietly filed away, to be seen no more on that or
any other battle-field. They could have remained
with perfect impunity, however, for not another
shell fell in that vicinity during the fight, and the
hospital proved for the occasion a veritable '^ bomb-
proof."

The battle of Malvern Hill was in all regards
one of the most terrible of the war. The Federal
commander having selected a splendid position- —
the apex of a cone toward which a series of plains
converged, and which could not be reached by a
flank movement — concentrated upon it the whole
of his artillery, and then brought to its support the
guns of the river fleet and the muskets of his entire
infantry. Thus entrenched and supported he would,
in all probability, have been impregnable in any
event against the best handled and the most com-
pletely concentrated army of the world — but on

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 303

this occasion he was rendered absolutely so by the
manner in which he was attacked.

By some misunderstanding of General Lee's
orders, and with the bravado of over-confidence, a
mere handful of men threw themselves upon the
position in the premises, and they, having been re-
pulsed, another division took their places, only to
meet with the same fate ; and thus the fight con-
tinued until the entire army had been involved in
detail and by detachments. There was at no time
a combined, simultaneous and systematic attack
upon the position, and the battle was lost almost
by default — because of the overweening self-reliance
of the Southern troo|)s engaged in it. The truth
is, success had so continuously wreathed itself about
the Confederate standard — the array was in such
a splendid and seemingly exhaustless stream of
luck — that it had learned to despise its adversaries,
and to suppose that dash and daring upon its part
were the infallible assurances of victory, whatever
might be the strength of the enemy or the difficul-
ties of the situation. The repulse was complete
and overwhelming ; and so great was the conse-
quent confusion and demoralization that for several
hours after the engagement the Confederate army
had absolutely no organic existence — was nothing
more nor less than a heterogenous mass of strag-
glers extending from Malvern Hill to Richmond.
McClellan could, in fact, have marched during that
night or on the succeeding morning into the Con-
federate capital with as much ease and as little
opposition as he actually traversed the space which
separated him from the river side and the protect-
ing guns of the fleet.

Nothing could live upon those fatal hillsides
during the progress of the fight, and those who
fell there had to remain where they had fallen un-

304 A doctor's experiences

til the retreat of the enemy permitted their burial
or their removal, as the necessities of the case re-
quired.

During the entire period of the fight a continu-
ous stream of wounded men — composed of those
who were able to crawl from the field or who fell
upon its margin — poured into the contiguous hos-
pitals.

I have never forgotten one poor fellow, whose
case fell under my observation. He was a mere lad,
belonging to a Louisiana regiment, and was wounded
so soon after entering the field that he fell where he
could be reached and brought away. Observing that
blood was flowing copiously from his head I passed
my hand over its surface and discovered a hard
substance projecting from a penetrating wound of
the cranium. A closer examination revealed the
presence of the hammer of a gun-lock buried so
deeply in the substance of the brain as almost to
conceal its presence, and to render its removal diffi-
cult. He was profoundly comatose when brought
in, but so soon as the foreign body was lifted from
its bed, with a scintillation of intelligence he sprang
to his feet and, waving his hands in the air, cried out
in ringing tones: " Come on, boys ! One more blow
for the ladies of New Orleans," and then fell ex-
hausted and senseless to the earth again. What
became of him I never knew, though I had him
lifted up tenderly and borne to the rear, with in-
structions to the surgeons there to treat him as if
he were my son. But time can never efface from
my memory the recollection of that fair young face
lit up by the glare of torches and the fire of enthu-
siasm ; that frail form trembling from physical
weakness yet instinct with patriotic fervor, and ^
that strange flashing up of a flickering intellect

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 305

under the spell of the sentiment which had inspired
it in the shock of battle.

General Lee passed an anxious and sleepless
night, for no man could tell what the morrow
would reveal. Fortunately for him and for his
cause, the victors, in total ignorance of the ruin
they had wrought, and of the opportunity which it
gave them, fled before the dawn and left the field
to the vanquished.

I rode over the field at an early hour on the suc-
ceeding day, and found it literally gray with South-
ern jackets — completely paved with the bodies of
dead and wounded Confederates.

In all my experience I have never seen anything
comparable with the slaughter upon those fatal
hillsides, and only a history written by some one
who participated in the fight, or who read the rec-
ord of its gory field, can convey a conception of
the desperation of the assault and theobstinancy of
the resistance at Malvern Hill.

A little in the rear of the hostile line I discov-
ered an old-fashioned Virginia ice-house, the roof
of which had been penetrated by one of the large
shells from the gunboats. Prompted by a spirit
of curiosity I opened the door* and looked within,
to be startled by one of the most ghastly specta-
cles that I ever beheld. There lay the stiffened
forms of twelve Union soldiers, all of whom had
evidently taken refuge in the house during the en-
gagement, and had been killed together by the
single shell which penetrated its roof and exploded
upon its floor.

During this eventful week the fortunes of war
carried me under the very roof beneath which my
father and mother were married. Savage's Sta-
tion, on the York River Railroad, where a severe
engagement was fought, and an immense supply
20

306 A doctor's experiences

of hospital tents arid stores were captured — though
the enemy had attempted to destroy them, while
they left their wounded in our hands — was for-
merly known hy the name of Laurel Grove, the
seat of my mother's family when she was a girl.
Under the very oaks which sheltered me that day
and amid the bowers in which I wandered, my
father had told the story of his love, and she to
whom I owe my being had listened and responded,
little dreaming that their son would come in after
years with a victorious army to wrest it from an
invader, and to find its green lawns white with
alien tents and covered with mutilated bodies.
Such is life — a record of the certainty only of the
uncertain — a series of seeming impossibilities — a
chain whose every link is forged of an incongruity
and a surprise.

With the battle of Malvern Hill the '^seven-
days' fight" concluded, and a period of inaction
followed, which was devoted to the recuperation of
our own exhausted energies, and to the more com-
plete organization of the medical staff.

I subsequently returned to my post in North
Carolina, and during the succeeding months of ab-
solute rest at GoldsboVough T devoted myself to
the preparation of a manual of military surgery,
such as my own experience with the medical offi-
cers of the Confederacy convinced me to be a de-
sideratum. Pretending to no originality, I simply
sought to describe the various operations in sur-
gery according to the data furnished by the best
authorities, and to show the appreciation to which
th'ey were entitled. The typographical execution
of the book was very imperfect, as nearly all of the
practical printers were in the army and the work
had to be done by the merest tyros in the art, and
yet it met with so cordial a reception as to necessi-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 307

tate immediate preparation for thelssueof a second
edition. It was entitled '' Surgery for Field and
Hospital/' and though bearing the imprint of
West & Johnson, of Richmond, it was really
printed by some boys at Raleigh.

308 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XX.

SURGEON-GEXERAL OF XORTH CAROLINA.

My Dear Doctor :

In the summer of 1862 the Honorable Zebulon
B. Vance was elected governor of North Carolina,
and through the intervention of mutual friends — es-
pecially of Dr. T. J. Boykin, who was then sur-
geon of his regiment — I was appointed surgeon-
general of the State soon afterward.

My predecessor would scarcely have been re-
moved, as he was a physician of ability and a gen-
tleman of high social standing, but, supposing my
appointment inevitable, he resigned the office on
the eve of the Governor's inauguration, upon the
ground of its uselessness in the supposed per-
fected condition of the Confederate medical organ-
ization— much to my surprise and gratification.

Of Dr. Boykin I will say, en passant^ that a
more loyal and pure-hearted man never lived, and
that he commanded in a pre-eminent degree the
respect and confidence of all who knew him — an
experience which has since been repeated and em-
phasized in the city of Baltimore, where he has
made for himself a home and a fortune since the
war. His love for Governor Vance, his former
commander, has ever been like that of Damon for
Pythias — a sentiment incorporating itself into his
entire life, and elucidating in its unreserved admir-
ation and unselfish service much of the true dig-
nity and inherent excellence of human nature. I

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 309

am proud to call such a man my frieud. and feel a
fresh inspiration to virtue in the contemplation of
his noble character and honorable life.

I cannot begin, my dear Doctor, to express the
gratification which this advancement afforded me.
To be thus elevated to the highest medical position
known to my native State, filled my bosom with
peculiar pride and exultation, while it inspired a
sense of gratitude to Governor Vance which made
me his devoted friend for life, and awakened a desire
to serve North Carolina, from which I can say with
truth, and without vanity, incalculable benefits
accrued alike to her soldiers and to her people.

The legislature was induced to give a palpable
contradiction to the alleged uselessness of the office
by an appropriation of one hundred thousand dol-
lars annually to its support..

Supported by the Governor, I established a num-
ber of wayside hospitals at convenient points in
the State, and a soldiers' home in Richmond, which
fed, warmed, sheltered and clothed thousands of
weary and suffering soldiers as they journeyed
homeward or campward.

I purchased in Europe a large stock of instru-
ments, medicines and hospital stores, and dis-
tributed them with a liberal hand to the North
Carolina troops long after the Confederate author-
ities had exhausted their supply and were without
the means of replenishing them.

I caused to be collected at convenient points on
the railroads or to be sent to my office at Raleigh
monthly contributions to the necessities of the sol-
diers at the front and had them forwarded regularly
to their proper destination.

I organized a corps of competent surgeons —
among whom were Dr. Eugene Grissom and Dr.
David Tayloe, of whom I cannot speak too

310 A doctor's experiences

highly — and sent them wherever the sick and
wounded were to be found and services coukl be
rendered.

1 effectually stamped out an epidemic of small-
pox which threatened to invade the State from
several points simultaneously, by appointing a
vaccinator in every county, sup|)lying him with
reliable virus, and seeing that his duties were faith-
fully performed — the records of my office showing
the vaccination of seventy thousand persons of all
ages, complexions and conditions.

I organized a medical staff for the militia and
Home Guards of the State, supervised the examina-
tion of such as claimed exemption from duty upon
the ground of physical disability, and supplied each
regiment with proper instruments and a plentiful
supply of hospital stores.

In a word, in a thousand different ways I made
my department felt, appreciated and respected, not
only by North Carolina but by the whole Confed-
eracy. As an evidence of this I recall with infinite
pride and satisfaction the fact that I secured the
confidence and friendship of Grovernor Vance, and
that the legislature of the State upon the distinct
grounds of ''faithful and devoted service to the
sick and wounded ' ' raised my rank from that of
colonel to that of brigadier -general^ with a corre-
sponding augmentation of pay and emoluments.

My relations with the Governor ripened into the
closest iritimacy. He gave me his fullest confidence
and most sincere regard. I became his most trusted
counselor, not alone in matters appertaining to my
special department, but in public affairs of the
gravest nature. It was in vain that jealousy
sought to disturb our relations or that calumny
breathed its detractions into his ear. He kneio that
I was faithful to him and to the trust which he

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 311

had confided to me, and he " stood by me " under
all circumstances and against every adversary.

As an evidence of his confidence, I will relate some
incidents which occurred during our association. I
once visited a neighboring city on ofiicial business,
and was thrown in with a party of North Carolin-
ians who were on a desperate spree there. As
they were the Grovernor's political friends and men
of influence at home, I could not avoid a certain
degree of intimacy with them, though I took no
part in their proceedings.

On my return, the Governor received me kindly,
but said with a certain amount of gravity in his
tone ; ''I heard all about your big spree, Warren."

"My big spree, Governoi' — what in the world
do you mean?" I asked in astonishment.

"Now, don't crawfish. I know the whole

thing — how you and Tom C made the place

howl while I thought you were devoting yourself
to public affairs," he answered, still wearing a
serious air.

" You must really explain yourself, Governor,
for I don't know what you are driving at," I in-
sisted, taking the matter seriously, and being
greatly annoyed.

" Well, read this," he said, as he handed me a
letter, in the address of which I instantly recognized
the writing of one of my supposed friends and most
trusted assistants.

Opening it eagerly, regardless of the " confiden-
tial" injunction upon its envelope, I read a circum-
stantial account of the manner in which I had
" neglected my business and enjoyed myself,"
Returning the letter to the Governor, with the blood
boiling in my veins at, the baseness of one who had
been honored and trusted by me, I asked, with

312 A doctor's experiences

trembling lips, '* Do you believe tliis of me,
Governor Vance?"

" Well, as to that part of it, you can judge for
yourself. Here is my answer. You see I did not
wait for the mail, but answered by telegraph/''
said the Governor, a bright smile playing over his
countenance. The telegram was in these words :
''Tell Warren sorry not there to join him;"
thus manifesting in a brief sentence his incredulity
in the story, his fidelity to an absent friend, and
his contempt for the informer. 1 seized the Gover-
nor's hand, and said to him : " The man who could
be anything else than true to such a friend as you
are, does not deserve to live."

On another occasion 1 called at Mr. Holden's
office, in the vain hope of preventing an open rup-
ture between him and the Governor, and of thus
saving the State from a heated political struggle in
the midst of the great war to which she stood
fully committed.

I saw Governor Vance on the next day, and before
I had time to tell him of my visit and to explain
its purpose, he said to me : ^' And so you paid
Holden a visit last night !"

'' Yes," said I, " but how in the world did you
know about it?"

" Well." replied he, ''You have some enemies
who would prejudice me against you if they could,
and you had hardly entered Holden's office before
three persons came running to my house, each
so out of breath that he could scarcely articulate,
to inform me that my 'dearest frieod" was closeted
with my ' most malignant enemy.' "

"Is it possible," I exclaimed; "and what did
you say to them ?"

"Oh! I thanked them very much for their
kind interest in my affairs and said that's all right,

m THREE CONTINENTS. 313

I suppose the visit is on my account, for I knew that
they were instigated solely hy malice and that what-
ever you might do it would be prompted by a desire
to serve me," was his answer, the inherent loyalty
of his nature instinctively arraying itself in defense
•of the assailed and absent friend in whose loyalty
he believed.

In my judgment no nobler man than Zebulon
Baird Vance was ever created — with an inherent
kindness of heart which tempers and softens his
entire nature ; a respect for justice and right which
asserts itself under all possible circumstances ; a
sense of the ridiculous from which wells out a stream
of humor at once copious, sparkling and exhaustless,
and an intellect which like some great oak of the
forest is at once a ''tower of strength" and a
^* thing of beauty forever," now braving the hurri-
cane's breath and the lightning's flash, and then
adorning the landscape by its grandeur, its symme-
try and its verdure.

I have analyzed his heart from core to covering,
and I know that in its every cell and fiber it is of
the purest gold, without the trace of alloy or a
taint of counterfeit.

I regard this period as the " golden age " of my
existence. It is true that the din of a fearful con-
test continually reverberated in my ears and that
dark clouds enveloped the horizon ; but happiness
reigned in my household, my daily duties brought
me into intimate association with one of the truest
of friends and the most genial of men, his friend-
ship secured for me the respect and regard of the
best men of the State, and I realized that I was
engaged in a noble work — a service which was at
once honorable in itself, invaluable to my country
and acceptable in the sight of heaven.

Among the most pleasant incidents of my ser-

314 A doctor's experiences

vice as a member of the Governor's staff was a
visit which I made with him to the Army of North-
ern Virginia in the winter of 1863.

He was then a candidate for re-election to the
gubernatorial chair, having filled it for one term
with great eclat, but being opposed by a certain
faction at home which proclaimed itself for " peace
and reconstruction " on any terms. This appeal,
it was feared, had produced some impression upon
the minds of the soldiers in the field^ and, though
the ostensible object of the visit was the advance-
ment of his political interests, its real purpose was
to rekindle the fires of patriotism in the hearts of
the North Carolina troops, and to cheer and stimu-
late the entire army. 1 had supposed that I knew
him thoroughly and appreciated him fully, but I
had really no conception of his gilts as an. orator
and of the potency of his personal magnetism until
this memorable occasion.

Inspired alike by his peculiar surroundings and
the importance of his mission, he transcended him-
self and produced an impression upon the army —
from its great captain to its humblest private —
which displayed itself in the wildest enthusiasm
for the cause and the most intense idolatry for it&
eloquent advocate.

That he should have been thus inspired is not
surprising, for the circumstances which surrounded
him would have stirred the heart of any man.

G-eneral Lee ordered a " general review " in his-
special honor — an incident, I believe, without
parallel in the history of the army.

Upon an immense plain in the immediate neigh-
borhood of Orange Court House there were assem-
bled the troops which composed the then uncon-
quered Army of Northern Virginia. They were
clad in rags but wreathed with victory ; their flags

GOV. ZEBULOX B. VANCE,

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 315

were soiled and tattered, but upon them were in-
scribed the immortal names of Coal Harbor, Ma-
nassas and South Mountain ; their arms were-
battered and blackened, but their fire had startled
the nations and reverberated around the world ;
their bands were decimated and out of tune, but
they still discoursed the inspiring strains of
"Dixie," "The Bonny Blue Flag," and "The
Girl I Left Behind Me," and though many a gal-
lant leader was absent because "off duty" forever,.
Jackson, Longstreet, Steuart, Early, Ewell, Hill,.
Rhodes, Gordon, Pettigrew, Hampton and Fitz-
hugh Lee were there to do honor to Carolina's-
illustrious son.

Arrayed in two confronting lines and with their
bronzed faces beaming with pleasure and expect-
ancy, the noble veterans awaited the coming of the?
old chieftain whom they had followed in triumph
so long, and of the youthful governor, whose de-
votion to the cause and tender care of his owni
troops had already made him the idol of them all.
Finally the cannons boomed, and General Lee and
Governor Vance appeared, and, amid a storm of en-
thusiastic cheers and an avalanche of friendly greet-
ings, rode slowly along the excited lines. It was a
stirring scene, and as I rode with this distinguished
company, and gazed into the battered but radiant
iaces around me, and listened to the grand " Con-
federate yell ' ' with which they hailed their great
commander and his honored guest, I felt that it
was indeed an occasion to be remembered, and
realized that I stood in the presence of heroes and
conquerors — of the men who had made history, and
had earned even from their enemies the reputation
of being " the bravest soldiers who ever marched to-
the music of battle."

So soon as the revievv — if that military love-feast

-316 A doctor's experiences

■can be so designated — was ended, the men and
officers came crowding around the elevated plat-
form which had been prepared for the orator, and
for two hours gave him their most earnest attention.

That day was truly a proud one for North Caro-
lina and for her gifted son. A more appropriate,
t^ffective and eloquent address was never uttered by
human lips. Under the influence of his rich and
varied imagery, his happy and graphic illustrations,
his masterly grasp and inner meaning, his trench-
ant thrusts and touching allusions, his stirring
appeals and deep pathos, and, in a word, his
magnificent and resistless eloquence, tKe audience
was stirred, enraptured, enthused and carried av>'ay
^s if by the spell of a magician. Not a man who
heard that impassioned outburst of patriotic inspir-
.^tion would have hesitated to die for his country ;
and I am convinced that in many an hour of su-
preme peril afterward it rang like a trumpet's
tone through the souls of those who heard it, in-
spiring them to a higher courage, a nobler effort,
a purer patriotism and a more heroic matyrdom
for the cause which they loved so well.

If aught of luke-warmness or despondency had
'been produced by the macliinations of a selfish fac-
tion at home they vanished as the morning mist
before the rising sun under the spell of this good
man's matchless eloquence.

I heard G-eneral Lee remark that Grovernor
Vance's visit to the army had been equivalent to
its reinforcement by fifty thousand men ; and it
sowed the seeds of a friendship between those two
true-hearted patriots which fructified even amid
the dark days preceding the surrender, and grew and
strengthened long after the land which they loved
so well had drained the cup of sorrow to the dregs.

It was then that he made classic the term ^' tar-

m THREE CONTINENTS. 31 T

heel," which others had hitherto applied in de-
rision to the North Carolina soldiers, by addressing-
them as ''fellow tar-heels," and demonstrating:
that the sobriquet was but a synonym of that tena-
cious courage which had made them stick to their
posts in the hour of danger upon so many hard-
fought fields, to their own imperishable honor and
to the eternal glory of the mother State, And
ever afterward, during the war and up to the pres-
ent moment, the most subtle compliment which car^
be paid to a North Carolinian who followed the ban-
ner of the Confederacy in all of its vicissitudes of
fortune until it was furled forever at Appomattox,
is to call him by that homely but blood-baptized
appellation of '' tar-heel."

So soon as the soldiers had recovered from the
spell of excitement induced by the Governor's ad-
dress, they cheered lustily for General Lee. As he
was unaccustomed to such appeals, and had been
reared with the strictest ideas of military discipline^
I feared at first that he might misinterpret the
demonstration, but, loving the soldiers with a
father's tenderness, he took no ofi'ense, and simply
blushed and retired from the scene. Other officers,
were then called for, but none responded save Gen-
erals Early, Steuart and Rhodes, who seemed spe-
cial favorites with the army.

General Early being a lawyer by profession spoke
with force and fluency, paying many handsome
compliments to the soldiers, and especially lauding-
the heroism of those from North Carolina. He-
was warmly received and enthusiastically cheered
throughout.

General Steuart came forward with all that ease
and grace for which he was so remarkable, and,
lifting his long-feathered hat, bowed, and bowed
again in return for the loud shouts which greeted
him. '' Fellow-soldiers," he said, "I am a cav-

318 A doctor's experiences

airy man, and, consequent!}^, not an orator, but
I should be untrue to myself if I failed to command
words enough to thank you for your kind recep-
tion, and to say that I have commanded many sol-
diers, but never braver and more trusty than those
who hailed from the Old North State. God bless
her 1" The eloquence of Demosthenes himself could
not have more excited the audience — especially the
Carolina portion of it — than the simple but perti-
nent words of the great Confederate raider, and
they hurrahed with such emphasis that I began to
think the Federals on the other side of the moun-
tain would believe the whole army had commenced
•a charge upon them.

General Rhodes arose in a very modest and
liesitating way and said: " I never attempted but
one speech before this in my life, and that was
•at Carlisle when we raised a Confederate flag over
its arsenal last year. I did not finish that speech
because an attack was made upon us while I was
in the midst of it ; but with God's help I intend
to finish my speech at Carlisle." This reference
to a possible forward movement was received with
the greatest manifestations of delight. "At Car-
lisle ! At Carlisle !" was taken up and echoed and
re-echoed by thousands of voices, and the army
seemed ready to begin its march northward at once
iind with as much pleasure as if some great feast
liad been prepared for it over the border.

With this the drums beat and the bugles sounded,
^nd order reigned again in the Army of Northern
Virginia as completely as if its discipline had never
been relaxed, and nothing had occurred to dis-
turb the routine of its hibernation.

I had the pleasure during this visit of meeting
with manv old friends, and amons: them the medi-
€al director whose appointment, as you may re-
memberj I had something to do with on the field of

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 319

Mechanicsville. He received me with his accus-
tomed cordiality, and we spent several pleasant
hours together, talking of that eventful night and
■of the memorable days which followed it.

This reference to the Army of Northern Virginia
reminds me to make a statement, for which I am
sure you are unprepared. To North Carolina
mainly belongs the honor of its grand achievements
^the glory of the victories which has rendered its
name immortal. From the day of its organization
to that of its final surrender, she contributed to it
more than one-half of its effective force. Forty
odd regiments of " tar-heels" were upon its muster-
rolls — a greater number than was furnished con-
tinuously by any other Southern State — and by
€ommon consent they were among the bravest and
the best troops in the field. From the Eoanoke to
the Susquehanna their bones are scattered upon
€very field which General Lee lost or won, and their
names and deeds are recorded in the history of his
command from title-page to conclusion.

I shall make another statement which may
equally surprise you. Though North Carolina was
opposed to the dogma of secession until the logic
of events convinced her of the necessity of sustain-
ing her Southern sisters, she furnished to the armies
of the Confederacy one hundred and tioenty odd
thousand men, thus sending out a greater number
of soldiers than she had voters when hostilities
commenced.

These facts and figures cannot be controverted,
and, in view of them, I respectfully submit that
she should no longer be reviled as the Rip Tan
Winkle of the Union, but honored as the Ajax-
Telemon of the Confederacy. She was slow to
take her position, but she exsanguinated and im-'
poverished herself in maintaining it, and in so
doing made a record for herself which her children

320 A doctor's experiences

will regard with pride and admiration to the re-
motest generations.

I also accompanied the Governor on many pleas-
ant visits to Wilmington, whither he went to meet
the '^Advance," the steamer which so successfully
eluded the blockade and brought in supplies for
the troops, and some royal feasts we had together
there on luxuries from outre mer.

We chanced to be in Wilmington when Butler
attempted to destroy Fort Fisher by means of his
celebrated ''powder-ship," the explosion of which
did not awaken the garrison, and was taken by
those who heard it in Wilmington for the report
of a pack of "fire crackers" which some enthusi-
astic urchin had fired off in honor of the repulse
of the fleet.

We visited the fort on the succeeding day, and
found it somewhat battered and plowed up, but
not materially damaged, while its huge bastions
and parapets looked as if they might defy the com-
bined navies of the world. So much for appear-
ances and for military calculations generally !
Wken, by some strange fatality, the Confederacy
and everything connected with it was falling, in
the later and sadder days of the war. Fort Fisher
fell likewise. General Ames, after a day's bom-
bardment from the sea and a single charge upon
land, captured the work, notwithstanding its appar-
ent impregnability and the confident calculations
of its defenders.

It was certainly a formidable work, and one
which did credit to the skill of the officer who
originally constructed it, and who subsequently
lost it and his life as well.

" ^o the struck eagle, stretched upon the plain,
No more through rolling clouds to soar again.
Viewed, his own feather on the fatal dart,
And wing'd the shaft that quiver'd in his heart."

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 321

LETTER XXI.

EXCITING ADYENTUEE AT KINSTON.

My Dear Doctor:

I had an exciting adventure at Kinston while
surgeon-general, in which my experience with
danger and disaster was repeated and extended.

When General Foster made his advance upon
that place, I requested permission to visit it^ hop-
ing to be of service to the wounded. En route I
overtook a regiment whose colonel was an inti-
mate friend of mine, which was hastening to rein-
force the Confederate commander, filled with mar-
tial ardor, and apprehensive only of being too late
to take part in the fight. We arrived at the de-
pot about midday, and were informed that an en-
gagement had been in progress for several hours,
and that the enemy had been repulsed at all
points.

As the firing continued, however, we started at
once toward the field, hoping to come in for some
of the glory of the day, even if we chanced to ar-
rive at the eleventh hour, and after the battle had
been fairly w^on. Indeed, I supposed that I should
find work in any event, though no risk might be
encountered in its performance.

In those days Kinston consisted mainly of a sin-
gle street, which extended from the railroad to
within a short distance of the river, where it ter-
mmated in a road that ran obliquely to a bridge
spanning the Neuse. Upon either side of this
21

322 A doctor's experiences

street, for nearly its entire length, there were
handsome houses, rejoicing in white gables and
green blinds, and surrounded by luxuriant gar-
dens, while a row of majestic elms skirted its bor-
bers and mingled their boughs in a continuous-
canopy above.

All unconscious of danger, and thinking the vic-
tory already won, the colonel permitted his men
to straggle rather than march along, while he and
I strolled leisurely in the rear, chatting of mutual
friends and familiar incidents.

We had just left the street and turned into the
road, when we were startled by aloud and peculiar
din coming from the opposite side of the river, and
looking in that direction, we saw to our consterna-
tion a body of Confederates rushing in confusion
toward the bridge, while a large Federal force was-
rapidly pursuing them.

In an instant, two batteries came dashing for-
ward, and planting their guns in a position to
command the bridge and its approaches, poured
round after round of grape and canister into the
fugitives, with whom we happened to be in direct

range.

At the first discharge several men were killed
beyond me, and others fell in such close proximity
that I could distinctly hear the peculiar thud pro-
duced by the messengers of death as they pene-
trated their bodies. Obeying a natural impulse, I
rushed from the dangerous roadway to the safer
street and sought the protection of a friendly elm,
behind which I placed myself, and then looked
around to ascertain the fate of my comrades, and to
determine how to extricate myself from the perils
of the position. -

There stood the heroic colonel, sword in hand,
giving no heed to the peril which menaced him^

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 323

and solicitous only for the safety of his men.
''Scatter, boys, and hug the earth," was the in-
junction which he constantly repeated to them,
and in tones that were audible even amid the roar
of the artillery and all the discordant sounds of the
occasion. I soon lost sight of him, however, in
the confusion of the moment, but I subsequently
learned that he succeeded in bringing ofP his regi-
ment without serious loss to it or the slightest det-
riment to himself. So much for Carolina pluck
and coolness.

The elms of Kinston are really separated from
each other by about fifty feet of space and they ex-
tend for a distance which cannot exceed a mile ;
and yet, as I dodged from one to the other in my
hurried flight, they seemed at least one hundred
yards apart and to cover many leagues.

"It is a long road which has no turning," how-
ever, and after much trepidation nd many hair-
breadth escapes I finally found myself at the depot
and out of immediate danger.

The scene at Kinston was hardly less terrible
than that which I had witnessed at New Berne, the
only difference being that there were fewer men
engaged in it — the principal part of our force having
been captured before it had reached the bridge ;
and that the actual peril was far greater, as artillery
was brought to bear upon the fugitives. Why a
stand was made by an inferior force acting on the
defensive, with a deep river and a single bridge in
its rear, I have never been able to comprehend.
It cannot be urged that there was no alternative
left to the Confederate commander, for he had been
informed of the strength of the advancing column
and he deliberately selected his position. As my
own life was near being sacrificed to this peculiar
strategy, and many a good soldier had to pay for

324 A doctor's experiences

it with his blood and his liberty, I insisted that
the war department should call upon its authors
for an explanation before the bar of a court of
inquiry. The surrender at Appomattox squared
many an account that could never have been settled
otherwise, and those upon whom rests the respon-
sibility of the disaster at Kinston have special
reason to congratulate themselves for the interven-
tion of that fortuitous settlement as an ultimate
investigation was inevitable.

Having heard that some wounded men ha& been
carried to a house on the main road immediately
beyond the limits of Kinston, I hastened to it,
hoping to be able to render assistance to the surgeon
in charge, and at the same time deeming it best to
be captured — as it seemed probable I would be —
while engaged in the performance of my legitimate
duties. On arriving there I found that a Missis-
sippi surgeon had taken the house as a hospital,
as he found it deserted by its owner, who in- his
consternation at the approach of the enemy had
aban( oned his possessions and fled precipitately —
as many did in those trying times, to their subse-
quent regret and final ruin.

In this inhospitable w^rld there is '^ no place like
home," especially if it be held in fee simple and
without encumbrances, and the last thing for a
sensible man to do is to abandon it, unless con-
strained by an imperative obligation or an impor-
tunate sheriff.

My confrere gladly accepted the proffered assist-
ance, and we worked harmoniously together until
every wounded man had been properly attended to
and sent to the rear in passing wagons and ambu-
lances. So absorbed had we been in the work before
us that we utterly failed until left free by its com-
pletion to realize the difficulties of the situation,

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 325

and then awakened to the consciousness that we were
entirely deserted by our comrades^ with the alter-
natives before us of walking thirty miles to Golds-
horough — foot-sore and fatigued as we w^ere — or of
waiting to be captured by the enemy, whose arrival
was every moment to be expected.

While hesitating between the horns of this di-
lemma, and in a state of infinite perplexity, we
w^ere suprised by the apparition of a horse — with-
out rider, bridle or saddle — walking quietly toward
us from the direction of the town. Rushing to the
gate, we opened it, drove him in, and secured him
without the slightest difficulty. In fact, he seemed
lonely and to be delighted with human companion-
ship, while we were reciprocally charmed to make
his acquaintance.

Then, opening the door of the '' carriage-house"
— for '' our right there was none to dispute" — we
found within it an old-fashioned buggy, with an
antiquated harness stored beneath its seat. The
Good Lord seemed indeed to be with us, and the
children of Israel could scarcely have beheld the
''parting of the waters" in their behalf with more
delight that we experienced at this timely capture
and pertinent discovery — this providential presen-
tation of the means of escape from the perils and
embarrassments of our position.

With hands trembling with excitement, and ears
on the alert for the '' Yankee cavalry," we ran
the vehicle into the yard, attached the horse to it,
and drove oflp toward home and liberty with a shout
of triumph and a prayer of thankfulness, the
happiest men in "the land of Dixie."

As our steed proved to be a famous "goer" we
soon overtook the column of fugitives, which had
been swollen by such a number of refugees with
their flocks, furniture and household goods gener-

326 A doctor's experiences

ally that it offered a serious impediment to our
progress, and the cocks were saluting the dawn
when we entered Goldsborough. Driving immedi-
ately to Gregory's Hotel, we gave our jaded horse
to the hostler, with promises of rich reward for the
most kindly care of him, and then, retiring to our
beds, we slept for many hours — the sleep of the
weary and the rescued.

Late in the afternoon I awoke from my protracted
slumber to find the town in a state of great com-
motion. Foster, elated by his success at Kinston,
was pushing on to Goldsborough, apparently intent
upon invading the State and taking possession of
Kaleigh. Trains were arriving constantl}^, bring-
ing regiments from a distance ; horses were neigh-
ing in every direction ; tents were pitched and
artillery parked in the public squares ; wagons and
ambulances were peipetually rolling through the
streets ; couriers with anxious mien and foaming
horses were dashing to and fro, and everything
indicated the anticipation of serious work and an
effort to prepare for it. I also learned that Gen-
eral G. W. Smith had arrived and assumed com-
mand of the department, which looked like ^' busi-
ness," and that, too, of an important character.
I hurried, therefore, to Raleigh, to report to the
Governor, and obtained permission to return to
Goldsborough, so as to take part in the events
which seemed likely to transpire there. General
Smith was an old and valued friend, for I had
always been one of his enthusiastic admirers, and
he received me most kindly, saying at once : " You
are the very man I was looking for. You must
serve as my medical director. Get to work at
once, and make arrangements for a severe fight
to-morrow ; for, though it is the last thing I want

^ m THREE CONTINENTS. 32Y

at present I think Foster will have sense enough
to force it."

^'But, my dear General," I answered^ ''the
thing you propose is out of the question. I am a
State officer and the Confederate surgeons would
reject my authority and hate me for the remainder
of their lives."

He would listen to no excuse, however, and had
the order issued instantly ; and, when certain of
my confreres came to protest against it he silenced
them by saying : ''I am here in the interest of
North Carolina, and I shall exercise the discretion
of utilizing the best materials which I find around
me. You must either resign or submit to my
orders. I shall arrest the first man who manifests
the slightest spirit of insubordination . "

These decided words had the desired effect, and
the protestants were awed into obedience, though
they consoled themselves with an undying hatred
of me ; for professional jealousy is ever as unjust
as it is vindictive, and assails whatever it finds in
its way without a question as to the justice of its
attack.

I devoted myself diligently to the work of pre-
paring the medical department for its expected
labors, and joined the General's staff as he rode to-
ward the field so as to be the better able to take in
the whole situation and to act intelligently in re-
gard to it. As we rode along 1 met one of the
surgeons who had shown so rebellious a spirit in
regard to my appoiutment, and, by way of testing
his metal as well as of making him useful, I ordered
him to follow me. His brow contracted and his
cheek blanched, but he bowed in acquiescence, and
turned his horse toward the expected battle-field.

Diverging from the main road after having
crossed the county bridge, the General pushed

328 A doctor's ■ EXPERIENCES

through a narrow strip of wood — where the presence
of several dead bodies showed that our picket line
had been posted — and rode into the plain beyond.
Here one of the most magnificent panoramas pre-
sented itself that can be conceived of. Behind the
railroad embankment — from the bridge to the point
at which it intersected the level plain — the Confed-
erate troops were drawn up in line of battle with
their guns at "ready arms,"~their artillery in
position, and their battle-flags floating in the wind,
and in the distance were large masses of the enemy
with the '^star-spangled banner'"' waving over
them, bands playing '' Yankee doodle," and end-
less batteries of artillery tiring rounds of shot and
shell, while their polished -gun barrels and bayonets
glittered in the rays of the setting sun like "errant
stars arrested there." Impressed by the specta-
cle. General Smith paused in midfield, and exposed
as he was and as conspicuous as his uniform and
retinue made him, gazed long and earnestly upon
it. I turned to observe its efi'ects upon my ambi-
tious confrere, but only in time to catch a glimpse
of his horse's tail as he disappeared in the copse
from which we had just emerged. Whether his
nerves were too weak for " the racket" or impor-
tant business called him to the rear, I never knew,
but I could not refrain from directing the attention
of my comrades to his disappearance and joining
in the hearty laugh with which they greeted it.
Wisdom if not valor was certainly displayed by the
fugitive, for during the next half hour we had to
indulge in the pastime of following our chief as he
rode up and down the line in full view of the enemy^
a target for artillerymen and sharpshooters. Sud-
denly dark clouds of smoke were seen to issue from
the bridge — which had been daringly fired by a
party of volunteers from Foster's army — and the

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 329

Federals giving cheer after cheer and firing a few-
rounds of shell and solid shot, disappeared from
view, satisfied with their achievements and believ-
ing themselves heroes. There were two sides to
the question, how^ever. With a hastily-collected
and imperfectly organized force of some six or eight
thousand men. General Smith succeeded in check-
ing the advance of Foster's disciplined army of forty
thousand experienced troops, thus saving the State
from invasion and its capital from destruction ; and
he was willing enough to sacrifice a bridge — which
was reconstructed in a few weeks — to the risk of
the unequal contest which would have followed an
attack on his command.

The truth is, the bustle and parade which had
been made at Groldsborough had for its object the
production of an exaggerated idea of the force as-
sembled there, and the bridge was really used as
^'tub to the whale" at the same time, with the re-
sult of so deceiving General Foster and satisfying
his army that he immediately retired.

No more raids or invasions were attempted until
Sherman came with his victorious legions, though
we occasionally had rumors of them. The militia
colonel of Wayne County, though a devoted Con-
federate, was one of the most excitable and sensa-
tional of men, and he was constantly informing
the Governor of advances upon the part of the
enemy, which fortunately were confined to the
hmits of his own imagination. On one occasion,
as I well remember, he telegraphed in these im-
pressive words: '^To his excellency, Governor Z.
B. Vance. The enemy is advancing, Wayne is
ready." To which the Governor responded in-
stantly, and in terms as laconic as explicit : "Col-
onel Moses, Goldsborough. Fire!" but I hardly

330 A doctor's experiences

think the command was obeyed as I never received
a list of the killed and wounded.

Much has been said about the barbarity shown
to Federal prisoners, as I have mentioned already,
and in justice to my immediate chief, North Caro-
lina's " great war Governor," I must vindicate
him from all participation in it by relating two in-
cidents which came under my immediate notice.

On one occasion, while passing through Salis-
bury, I made it a point to visit the prison there in
order to ascertain for myself the condition of its
inmates. I found it overcrowded, dirty and poorly
provided in every way ; while the prisoners were
surly and insubordinate to the last degree even in
the midst of their squalor, filth, and wretchedness.
I attempted to talk kindly to them, commiserating
their lot and promising assistance ; but they only
answered mockingly and in the most insulting
terms. On \nj return to Raleigh, I told Governor
Vance of my visit, and gave him a true account of
the forlorn state in which I had found the prisoners,
as well as of the resentful and rebellious spirit
which pervaded them. '^Poor fellows," said he,
''I pity them from the bottom of my heart. It
is true that the Confederate authorities give them
the same rations as their own soldiers, and that
the United States Government is mainly responsi-
ble for their condition by refusing an exchange
when we have declared our inability to properly
provide for prisoners, but I can't help feeling
sorry for the unfortunate creatures themselves.
There may be no law but that of humanity for
it, but I shall devote some of the stores belong-
ing to the State to their relief. You must send
them from your depot such supplies as they re-
quire, and I will instruct my commissary general
to do the same."

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 331

cc

1 shall only be too happy, Grovernor, to carry
out your wishes," was my answer ; and a liberal
supply of stimulants, medicines, hospital stores,
blankets and shoes was immediately forwarded to
the Salisbury prisoners, according to the Govern-
or's instructions.

Shortly after the battle of Benton sville I re-
ceived a telegram conveying the information that a
train would arrive at a certain hour filled with
wounded men. I, therefore, immediately ordered
the surgeons in charge of the Wayside Hospital
to have prepared and carried to the station a plen-
tiful supply of coffee, brandy-toddy, meat and
bread. I also instructed my assistants to be on
hand at the hour indicated with surgical dressings,
etc., and to hold themselves in readiness for such
work as they might be called upon to do.

Upon the arrival of the train, I found that it
contained about an equal number of wounded men
from the two armies — Confederates and Federals —
occupying alternate cars, and all hungry, ex-
hausted and suffering.

Followed by my assistants and hospital attend-
ants, I entered the first car, and passed consecu-
tively through them all, giving each sufferer in
turn food, drink, and such surgical attention as he
required, without taking into consideration either
the color of his coat or the side upon which he had
fought. Should I live a thousand years I shall
never forget the expressions of gratitude with
which those stricken men received my ministra-
tions or the terms of indignation which were em-
ployed by a number of ''original secessionists"
— who, instead of idling at the depot, should have
been in the army fighting the battles which they
had invoked — because I had presumed to distribute
to the Yankees the stores which rightfully belonged

332 A doctor's experiences

to the State, and to which the Confederate wounded
were primarily if not exclusively entitled. I was
attacked so severely for it afterward that I tendered
my resignation.

I immediately sought Governor Vance and ex-
plained the circumstances to him. " Resignation,
the devil," said he, with that charming frankness
and kind consideration which have made him the
idol of so many hearts; '"'you have acted like a
gentleman and a Christian. Had your conduct
been different you would have incurred my serious
displeasure." And, yet, he was the man upon
whom General Lee relied as his right arm in the
darkest days of the Confederacy's history, and
who, though opposed to secession in the premises,
did more in the end to sustain " the cause " than
all the carping and dodging ''originals" com-
bined.

In view of these facts, and of many others which
I could relate if space permitted, it is clear that no
charge of cruelty to defenseless prisoners can be
brought against him, and that his record in this
regard, as in all others, is as pure and stainless as
the icicle upon Diana's temple.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 333

LETTER XXII.

MISSION TO GENERAL SHERMAN.

My Dear Doctor :

I was with the Governor when the dispatch ar-
rived announcing the supreme disaster which had
befallen G-eneral Lee, and I well remember the
anguish of mind which it occasioned him. We
had heard of the retreat from Petersburg, and of
the arrival of the President and his Cabinet at
Charlotte ; but we had taught ourselves to rely so
implicitly upon the valor of the army and the re-
sources of its commander that the idea of a fatal
and final catastrophe was difficult to realize. A
consultation was held the next day in the execu-
tive chamber, at which the staff of the Governor
and many of the leading men of the State assisted,
the object of which was to determine what was
best to be done toward saving the capital and the
public property from destruction, as General John-
ston had uncovered Raleigh and General Sherman
was advancing rapidly upon it. The Governor im-
mediately announced his intention to ask no terms
for himself and to follow the army and the gov-
ernment to the end.

It was then concluded to send a commission to
General Sherman, informing him that his entrance
into the city would be unopposed, and requesting
him to take measures for its protection and that of
the public and private p^roperty which it contained.

Ex-Governor Graham, formerly Secretary of the

334 A doctor's experiences

Navy, and ex-Governor Swain, president of the
University — two of the most distinguished and
lionored citizens of the State — were selected as com-
missioners, while Major John W. Devereux, quar-
termaster of the State, was designated as the officer
to conduct the train and to carry the flag of truce.

Prompted by an inherent love of adventure, as
well as by a desire to contribute to the success of
an enterprise which seemed so honorable in itself
and so important in its consequences, I asked per-
mission of Governor Vance to accompany the com-
mission and to be associated with its direction.
He promptly consented, saying, jocularly : ''I be-
lieve, Warren, you would volunteer to go to the
devil if an expedition were started for the domains
of his Satanic Majesty," and gave me a verbal or-
der to the end which I have indicated. I expected
to return in a few hours, and to accompany the
Governor in his retreat. Indeed, all of my prep-
arations had been made with that object in view,
my family having been sent to Edenton, my am-
bulance with my personal effects having been dis-
patched to Hillsboro', and my horse being 'kept
saddled and bridled so that I might start at a mo-
ment's notice.

With an engine, a tender and a passenger car
over which a white flag floated, we left the Ka-
leigh depot, and soon reached the Confederate
lines — for a portion of the cavalry had been left to
confront the advancing army and to watch its
movements— and after some preliminary formali-
ties, the train moved on in the direction of the
Federal pickets. Just as we were on the point of
entering the hostile lines a Confederate officer was
observed galloping after us, making signs for us to
halt, and when we had done so, he informed us
that President Davis or some hmli official coun-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 385

termanded the flag of truce, and commanded the
return of the commissioners.

As incomprehensible as this command seemed at
the time, there was nothing left but to obey it,
and ordering the engineer to reverse his engine,
we started for Raleigh. I have since learned that
the President had been induced to believe that the
object of the mission was to segregate North Caro-
lina from her Southern sisters and to obtain inde-
pendent terms for her at the hands of the United
States authorities ; whereas it was sent, simply
and exclusively, to prevent the burning of the cap-
ital, or, in other words, to save it from the fate of
Columbia.

All doubt in this regard is set at rest by the
terras of the order which Sherman issued in re-
sponse to the appeals of the commissioners, for
they eventually reached him, as 1 shall relate in a
few moments. It should also be remembered that
the commission was sent several days suhseque7it to
the surrender at Appomattox, and afte?- General
Johnston had announced his purpose to uncover
Raleigh, and that it started not alone with the
knowledge of General Hardee — who was then in
command of Raleigh — but with his entire approba-
tion^ as is established by the fact that it left the
city by his authority, and with instructions from
him that it should be sent through under the pro-
tection of a regular flag of truce.

I have been thus particular in giving the facts
connected with the sending of this commission,
because they have been entirely misrepresented,
and the public has never been correctly informed
in regard to them. It was nothing more or less
than a patriotic and judicious effort to save the
capital of the State from destruction, after the
Confederate authorities had been compelled to aban-

336 A doctor's experiences

don it, with a victorious and vindictive army at its
gates.

That which was repudiated as impolitic and im-
proper was subsequently demonstrated b}^ the logic
of events to be a measure of supreme wisdom and
23ropriety, as I shall proceed to establish.

We had traveled several miles on our homeward
journey, and were out of the reach of danger as
Ave supposed, when I was suddenly startled by hear-
ing shouting and firing in advance of us and by
perceiving that the train had stopped. Rushing
to the front door of the car, I beheld a scene and
had an experience which can never be blotted from
my memor}^ About one hundred yards in front
of the train there was a large body of cavalry,
whose blue uniforms proclaimed them to be Fed-
erals, and whose presence indicated that they had
flanked our forces and interposed themselves be-
tween the Confederate line and the city.

The moment that I appeared upon the platform
they fired a volley at me, and then, with Wild
yells and leveled weapons, came rushing toward
the train, some directing themselves to the engi-
neer and others to myself. I escaped death in the
first instance by instinctively crouching behind the
tender, and in the second by waving my handker-
chief in token of surrender, and proclaiming my
military status, but I certainly was nearer to it
than at any time in my life. Putting on as brave
a face as I could under the circumstances, with the
muzzle of a hundred cocked carbines and revolvers
pointed at my head and a crowd of desperate cav-
alrymen cursing and hooting around me, I de-
manded the name of the officer in command, and
claimed his protection as a surgeon and a prisoner
of war. " My name is Godfrey," he said, '' Col-
onel Godfrey, of General Kilpatrick's slaff. I will

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 337

conduct you to headquarters^ but you niust keep
near to me, for these are a wild set of fellows, and
it is difficult to control them." Taking him at
his word, I leaped from the car so as to " keep as
near to him as possible," and looking toward the
other end of the train, I saw the commissioners and
their suite descending from it, the most forlorn and
dilapidated-looking individuals that can be con-
ceived of, for while I had engaged the commander
in conversation his men had entered the car and
^' gone through" the entire party. My position
had been one of great danger, but it had saved me
from the robbery to which the others were sub-
jected, and, though I had oue hundred dollars in
gold about me, as well as my watch and chain, I
lost nothiug — which was some compensation at
least for the fearful ordeal through which I had
passed.

We were then conducted to the presence of the
commanding general, and though I immediately
informed him who the commissioners were, and of
the nature of their mission,, pointing to the white
flag which was still flying over the train, in con-
firmation of my statements, he affected to regard
us as spies, and was grossly insulted.

In the midst of the interview a brisk engage-
ment began in such close proximity that he was
ojlad to bring it to a conclusion, commanding as he
did so that the prisoners should be sent to the rear
and kept under guard until he had determined what
disposition to make of them.

While walking to the rear we encountered a
number of regiments whose soldiers amused them-
selves by indulging in rude jests at our expense,
making the venerable ex-governors their especial
butts and targets, as they were dressed in long-
22

338 A doctor's experiences

tailed coats and tall beaver hsits, anfe-beUwn relics^
which they had especially donned for the occasion.

But with measured tread and the dignity of
Roman Senators, the commissioners walked along
indignant to the last degree, but stately, silent and
apparently as indifferent to their tormentors as to-
the ]-ails upon the surrounding fences or to the
weeds in the neighboring fields. Indecorous as
were these assaults^, and philosophically as they
were borne, there was something so essentially lu-
dicrous in the whole perforrpance that despite the
time and circumstances I could not help being
amused or succeed in repressing an occasional out-
burst of laughter. Every now and then they gave
me a shot as well, but having less dignity to sup-
port and more experience with the manners of the
field to fall back upon, I only smiled in return and
let them have their fun without comment or con-
tention. Finally the staff officer in charge ordered
a halt and bade us adieu, informing us, as he did
so, of his purpose to seek us later, and instructing
the guard in very emphatic terms that its exclu-
sive business was to protect us and to prevent
our escape.

As there was a house upon the roadside, we en-
tered it, and with the permission of the owners
made it our headquarters while awaiting our fate.
The house was occupied by two old people, who-
after years of patient toil had accumulated a few
comforts for their declining years. They Avere
greatly frightened at the sudden appearance of
Kilpatrick and his ^'bummers," but congratulated
themselves that so far they had been left unmolested.
We encouraged them to the best of our ability, and
promised that the guard, which had been left with
us should extend its protection to them and' to
their possessions. Fatal mistake ! Vain promise t

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 339

No sooner had the officer returned to his post than
the very guard upon whose good offices we had re-
lied fell to work and robbed them mercilessly of
everything which belonged to them. Deaf alike
to our protestations and to the appeals of their
victims, they forced themselves into the house and
rifled every trunk, chest and drawer that they
could find, even ripping up the beds and pillows
in their remorseless search for booty. Such a scene
of pillage T never witnessed before, and hope never
to see again, and yet, being without arms and with
our own lives at the mercy of the desperadoes, we
were powerless to prevent the outrage or to punish
its perpetrators. After a lapse of several hours —
they were indeed long and dreary ones — we were
1 econducted to General Kilpatrick's presence^ and
were informed that he had concluded to send us to
General Sherman's headquarters, which were some
ten miles distant in the direction of Goldsborough.
Instead of our special train a hand-car was pro-
vided for our conveyance, which made the journey
dangerous and exciting to the last degree ; for a
portion of the road was supposed to be in possession
of Hampton, while the remainder was held by
Sherman. The propulsion of the car was confided
to two negroes while I was compelled to expose
myself conspicuously in it for the first half of the
distance, my uniform being the newest and most
conspicuous, so as to secure immunity from the Con-
federates, and the staff officer to take my place for
the second half in order to prevent an attack by the
Federals You can imagine better than I can por-
tray what were my emotions as I stood up in the
car, and was slowly propelled in the direction of
General Sherman's army, as it was impossible to
determine how far my uniform would be respected
by our side or when it might invite a fire from the
other — the exact position of the respective pickets

■340 A doctor's experiexces

Leing necessarily unknown. For about an lionr,
therefore, I faced death continuously — expecting
every instant to feel a ball crashing through my
body — and all because, in a spirit of adventure and
from a desire to secure the success of a plan which
I deemed of vital importance to the State, I had
volunteered for an enterprise beyond the domain of
my legitimate department. Ne sutor ultra crepi-
dam has been the motto of my subsequent existence.

I do not deny the fact that I was dreadfully nevv-
ous while thus exposed, though I would rather have
died than have permitted my companions to know
the real state of my mind ; and I forced myself to
appear as cool and collected as if I were simply per-
forming some routine work in my office.

Governor Vance tells a story which illustrates
my own experience in this regard most admirably.
According to him a rabbit once jumped up before a
soldier who was in a tight place, and w^ent scudding
away for its life. Stopping deliberately and watch-
ing intently the retreating animal, he addressed it
in this wise : "Go it Molly Cotton-tail! Go it
Molly Cotton-tail! Go it w^hile you may! — for I

wish I may be d if I had no more reputation to

lose at home than you have, there would be a foot
race between us, you bet."

The courage upon w^hich men mount the highest
pinnacle of fame is not that born of insensibility to
danger, but of a pride of character wdiich dominates
the fear of death and chains them to the post of
duty at all hazards and at any sacrifice.

Genei-al Sherman received the commissioners with
marked consideration, accepting and respecting the
flag of truce notwithstanding its previous recall or
the circuitous route by which it reached him. On
the following morning he sent them back in the cap-
tured train, bearing an order commanding the

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 341

soldiers and officers of his army to protect tlie
city of Raleigh and all the public and private prop-
erty within its limits, provided that no act of hos-
tility was committed there against the forces of the
United States.

On arriving at Raleigh we were greeted with
the sight of the burning depot and the announcement
that the Governor and state officials had departed.
Having heard of the capture of the train and our
detention as prisoners of war, he concluded that the
mission had failed, and at an early hour of the
succeeding morning he left the city to share the
fortunes of the falling Confederacy, as he had an-
nounced his purpose to do in the premises. The
commissioners therefore placed General Sherman's
order in the hands of Major Devereux and myself,
with instructions to use it according to our discre-
tion, and then attempted to reach their homes
further west.

Hurrying to the point whither the mayor had
gone to surrender the city to Kilpatrick and to
crave his clemency in its behalf, we arrived just in
time to stay the hand of that vindictive partisan by
presenting to his astonished gaze the considerate
order of his superior. He had no conception of its
existence until that mDment, and though he" read
it with a scowling countenance, he wilted under its
peremptory terms and assumed immediately an air
of extreme complaisance. In a word, it was thus
made apparent that the commission had under the
direction of Providence been made an instrument
for the preservation of the State capital — had saved
Raleigh from the fate of Columbia. In the prog-
ress of events the benefits accruing from it became
still more conspicuous, for though more than one
hundred thousand victorious troops, habituated to
plundering, and with their worst passions excited

342 A doctor's experiences

by the unfortunate circumstances of the President's
assassination, occupied the city for several weeks,
public and private property was absolutely re-
spected, and not a citizen was injured or insulted.

I am proud, therefore, to have been connected
with this mission, and to realize that it was my
lot to contribute in some measure to its success.

Kilpatrick, thus baffled in his vengeance and de-
prived of his expected booty, sought consolation in
a grand entry into the city. Accompanied by his
staff and body-guard and followed by the mayor
and common council on foot, with flags flying and
bugles sounding, he marched up Fayetteville street
and formally took possession of the capital in the
name of the authorities of the United States.

An incident occurred, however, on this triumphal
march which came near cutting short his career,
and threatened the most serious consequences to
the city and its inhabitants.

Just after the cavalcade had passed the Yar-
borough House two soldiers belonging to Wheeler's
cavalry rushed out of a store which they had been
engaged in pillaging, mounted their horses, fired
at Kilpatrick, and fled precipitately in the direction
of the retreating army.

For some moments the greatest excitement pre-
vailed. The body-guard deployed hastily as skir-
mishers ; the staff surrounded its chief so as to
protect him with their bodies ; and the air was
filled with a din of mingled shouts, commands and
imprecations. The marauders had fired so quickly
that, though the report of their guns had been
heard generally, only a few persons knew precisely
what had occurred. Having witnessed the whole
affair, I rushed up to Kilpatrick and explained it
as rapidly and as thoroughly as possible, and en-
treated him to remember that it was only an act of

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 343

individual ruffianism for which its perpetrators
alone should be held responsible. Fortunately, he
took the right view of the situation, and gave vent
to his anger by ordering that the fugitives should
be immediately pursued and when captured hung
in the Capitol grounds. '' All rights General," I
said, ''but do not hold the city responsible for
their act, I implore you." He scowled fiercely and
said : ''If they are not captured and hung I shall
hold somebody responsible," giving me a glance of
intense malignity ; and it really looked as if he
might expend his vengeance on me or on any one
who chanced to be in the way if the perpetrators of
the outrage were not speedily captured and executed.
In about half an hour I saw the pursuers re-
turning with the marauders tied to their saddles,
and I soon ascertained that they were to be hung
" within ten minutes to the nearest tree " — a judg-
ment which was immediately executed.

344 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XXIII.

COLONEL BAYLOE, U. S. A.

My Dear Doctor :

I should have mentioned that a few moments
after my arrival at Sherman's camp an officer aj)-
proached me, and introducing himself as ^' Colonel
Baylor," asked : '' Are you Dr. Warren, of Eden-
ton ?"

"Yes, and I know you very well by reputation,"
I answered. ,

" You must then be my guest for this occasion,"
he said, and conducting me to his tent, he over-
whelmed me with kindness — ^treated me not as a
prisoner, but as a brother in all regards.

After our separation in Kaleigh I never saw
him again until a short time since in Paris —
embracing a period of eighteen years — when I
hastened ''to kill the fatted calf for him in re-
turn for his previous kindness. To be thus treated
when I was hungry, fatigued and depressed by the
prospects of imprisonment, produced a lasting im-
pression upon my mind and filled my heart with
the sincerest gratitude.

Though a Virginian by birth he remained in the
United States Army during the war, and conse-
quently made many enemies among his own people,
but he is too brave and true a man to have been
promjjted by other than the highest conceptions of
duty, and his fidelity to the obligations of friendship
shows him to be a gentleman by instinct as well as

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 345

by descent and association. There are two things
aiDout which I make it a rule never to quarrel with
any man, and they are his religion and his politics,
however widely he may differ from me or whatever
the extremes into which they carry him. Ortho-
doxy or heterodoxy in these regards are matters for
the supreme intelligence alone, and he who erects
a standard by w^hich to determine them for others
simply assumes the role of a bigot and a partisan.
The road which a man conscientiously believes in
and persistently adheres to is '' the way" for him,
and no one has the right to criticise or to question
him for following it.

The succeeding days were exciting ones in Ra-
leigh. General Sherman having received intelli-
gence of the assassination of President Lincoln, and
fearing its effect upon the soldiers, called a con-
sultation of its most prominent citizens, and advised
with them as to the best means of breaking it to
the army and of providing against hostile demon-
stration upon its part, thus showing throughout
an absolute loyalty to the engagements which
he had undertaken with the commissioners.
Thanks to his forethought and promptness of ac-
tion the danger w^as tided over, and the feeling of
intense anxiety which pervaded the community for
many days after that great calamity gave place to
a sentiment of security and confidence.

Apart from the conservatism which General
Sherman displayed in his negotiations with General
Johnston, there is a page of secret history upon
which his liberal views toward North Carolina and
her people are most conspicuously written.

General Frank Blair took up his headquarters
in my house with my consent, and in proposing to
do so he assured me that I might '' go further and
fare worse" in the way of a guest — that some one

346 A doctor's experiences

might take forcible jDOSsession of my premises and
drive me out of them. I was thus placed in position
to acquire a knowledge of the efforts which he in
conjunction with General Scofield made to secure
the restoration of North Carolina to the Union with-
out that preliminary process of '^ reconstruction"
which subsequently proved so prolific of humiliation
and annoyance to her people.

Coming home at a late hour one night he said to
me : " Get pen, ink, and paper and help me to pre-
pare a document of great importance. You must
do the writing, for I am fatigued, and do not wish
my staff to kno^\^ anything about the matter at
present." I did as he requested, and we prepared
together an order such as he informed me Sherman
was disposed to issue, as it conformed with the views
which Mr. ^Lincoln had recently expressed to him.

By the terms of that order North Carolina was
to be immediately restored to the Union without
the loss of a single element of her sovereignty, and
with all the machinery of her existing government
— with Governor Yance in the executive chair and
his administration re-established in statu quo.

On the succeeding day the General assured me
that he had had an interview with Sherman, and
had exhibited to him the draft of the order which
I had written, and that he (Sherman) had ap-
proved of it in every particular, and Avould issue
it at once. We retired that night with light hearts
in the full conviction that we had solved the ]Drob-
lem of reconstruction so far as North Carolina was
concerned, and had restored the Union of the
fathers of the republic in all of its original integ-
rity, only to be awakened on the succeeding. morn-
ing by the terrible intelligence of Mr. Lincoln's
assassination and the consequent overthrow of our
cherished plans. Of course with that dire calam-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 347

ity staring him in the face, and the succession of a
man to the Presidency with whose views he was
unacquainted, and who immediately inaugurated
the policy of '"'making treason odious," General
Sherman could not issue the order, and was even
compelled to recede from. his half completed arrange-
ments with General Johnston.

Within a month from that time Governor Vance,
instead of occupying the executive chair of North
Carolina, was himself an inmate of the old Capi-
tol prison, and it was not until after many a long
year and a terrible experience with arbitrary mili-
tary rulers, partisan provisional governors, greedy
carpet-baggers, adventurers, bloody Ku-klux clans
and a general bankruptcy, that the State regained
that position in the Union to which the plan inau-
gurated by Generals Blair and Scofield, and ap-
proved by General Sherman, would have imme-
diately secured to her.

I do not pretend to enter into the question of
General Sherman's previous conduct, but I can tes-
tify from facts within my personal knowledge that
from the day of the visit of the commissioners up
to that of his departure from North Carolina, he
displayed a liberality of sentiment, a kindness of
feeling and a loyalty of conduct which did him in-
finite honor, and entitled him to be regarded as a
friend and benefactor of her people. '^Fiat justi-
tia, mat coelum,"

I witnessed the grand review which he held at
Raleigh when the final collapse of the Confederacy
afforded him an opportunity to give free indulgence
to that love of display which constitutes so impor-
tant a factor in his singular character.

Seventeen army corps, each with a full comple-
ment of cavalry and artillery, marched up Fayette-
ville street and by the main gate of the Capitol,

348 A doctor's experiences

where the General, mounted on his blooded charger
in grande tenue^ and surrounded by his staff officers
and major-generals, awaited to inspect them. Each
man of that vast multitude, in the completeness of
his equijDment, the precision of his movements and
in all that constitutes a perfect soldier, looked
more like a member of some pampered volunteer
company than a veterarf of a hundred fields, while
the entire mass seemed endowed with the intelli-
gence and spontaneity of a vitalized organism. As I
listened for hours to the tread of these countless
legions, so complete in their equipment, thorough
in their organization and admirable in their dis
cipline — the representative of all that could be
conceived of ^' the pomp and circumstance of glori-
ous war" — I could but feel a profound admiration
for the genius which had perfected such a mighty
instrument of destruction and conquest, and a su-
preme realization of the heroism and fortitude
of the ragged, half-starved and comparatively un-
organized army which for four years of unequal
conflict had defied its power, and had finally suc-
cumbed, not so much to its prowess as to the force
of circumstances and to the laws of nature.

And reflecting that the war was over, I forgot
that these matchless soldiers were our conquerors,
and my heart beat with a fuller tide and a prouder
impulse as I, recognized them as compatriots — the
protectors of a united people and the guardians of
a common country.

As my mission was ended and a new regime es-
tablished I obtained permission to join my family
at Edenton, and left the capital a sadder and a
poorer man than I had entered it, but cheered by
the reflection that I had labored faithfully to dis-
charge the duties of my position, and had rendered
some service to North Carolina and her people.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 349

I went to New Berne by train and thence to Eden-
ton by steamer, the oath of alleo;iance having been
demanded by the provost marshal as the condition
precedent of my embarkation. At the former
place I was overwhelmed by visits from Edenton
negroes who had taken refuge there during the war,
-and who seemed delighted to see me again, as my rela-
tions with them in ante-bellum days had always
been most friendly. I was struck with the fact
that a large majority of the callers were females,
and on asking an explanation I was informed that
nearly all the males had been killed at Plymouth
a few months previously.

It seems that immediately on their arrival there
they were put to work on the fortifications, and
that when the Confederates invested the place the
women were sent awa}^ in transports and the men
were forced into the ranks to fight for their liberty
-and their lives. Scattered like " chaff before the
wind" by the charge of Ransom's veterans, scarcely
one was left to tell the story of their annihi-
lation, for quarter was never given when that
unfortunate race offered the gage of battle to
the white men of the South. ^

As the poor creatures had mostly been reared
as house servants, and had no acquaintance with
manual labor or familiarity with the use of arms,
the freedom (?) which they sought by the desertion
of their masters was thus paid for most dearly —
by dreary lives in the trenches and bloody deaths
upon the battle-field.

I had been reared with them and they had been
my patients for years, and the sad story of the
"hard lines" and the '^hospitable graves" wdiich
they found in the Utopia of their dreams wrung
my heart to its core, accustomed as it was to life's
sorrows and vicissitudes. To Madam Roland's dy-

350 A doctor's experiexces

ing exclamation, "Ah, Liberty, how many crimes
have been committed in thy name !" there might
be added with equal truth, ''and what mistakes-
have been made!" for there is something in the
term which unsettles men's reason and transforms
them into fools or lunatics. These negroes were
slaves but in name^ for they carried the keys and
were really the masters of the situation, and j^et
they eagerly fled from the homes in which they
had been petted, indulged and pampered, that they
might be free.

" Lords of themselves, that heritage of woe."

Pardon me for dwelling on the negro under the
new dispensation of liberty and equality. I had
sent with my family to Edenton three negro men
in whose fidelity I had the utmost confidence. The
oldest was Primus, and although his skin was
Ethiopian his heart was as pure as 'Hhe gold of the
mines." He was the husband of my baby's nurse,
and he loved "the family" as if it were his by
blood and birth. So far from rejoicing in the
freedom which had been " proclaimed" to him it
only pained his faithful soul to lose his master, and
he showed even more attachment and attention to
us than he had done before. In fact he rejected
the proffered boon of liberty, and clung to his con-
dition of servitude with unfaltering tenacity. He
prided himself especially on being a " democratic
darkey," and went persistently to the polls intent
upon voting for " Mass Govnor Yance" for every
office in the gift of the people.

When questioned in regard to his pertinacious
support of the Governor, he said: "Well, you
see, boss, the Governor and me, we sarved together
in the war, and he is a friend of my master — that's
enough for old Primus." The weeds of fifteen

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 351

years have grown and withered upon his humble
grave at the ''Chinquapin Chapel," but I honor
it as much as if it were adorned by a marble shaft,
for as good a man sleeps beneath it as ever served
the Lord or honored a master.

The second was Gabe, a cadaverous-looking fel-
low of some eighteen years, who was just the
laziest and the most affectionate darkey that ever
rejoiced in an owner. He stuck to me like some
faithful dog, refusing to work on his own account
or for any one save his ''master and missus."
His constitution was delicate, and with no one to
care for his health or to nurse him when sick — as
we were separated from him — he soon fell a victim
to the freedom for which so much blood was shed,
but only proved to him, as to many of his race,
a calamity and a curse. Poor boy ! He had a
kind heart under that mahogany-colored skin of
his, and as a slave he would have lived a long and
useful life. Liberty was the last thing that he
needed or desired, and he died of it.

The last was called by the classic name of Cupid,
though I could never trace its origin. He was a
bright mulatto with nearly straight hair, light
blue eyes, regular features, and a frame possessing
unusual grace and power. I purchased him just
before the war, not that T wanted him particularly,
but to keep him from being separated from a
mother who loved him dearly, and appealed to me
in moving terms to save her son from the hands of
a "negro-trader." I was much attached to this
young man, trusting him in all things and believ-
ing him to be specially devoted to me and mine.
The first thing that I learned on my arrival at
Edenton was of his desertion of my family and
the insolence of his manner whenever he met them.
When I questioned Primus and Gabe in regard to

352 A doctor's experiences

his conduct they informed me that he bad always
been ungrateful ; that he was inherently a rascal,
and that he had avowed his determination to insult
me so soon as he found tbe opportunity by way of
showing himself a free man and the equal of any
one. Old Primus added: '^ You see, masser, you
is a white man and you can't thrash dat ar darkey
like fore de war times, while de gun-boats is in de
bay and de Yanks is a prowlin' aroun', but little
Gabe and I is niggers and we kin do it for sartin.
So if you say the word, we'll just give him sich a
good old-fashioned trouncin' as he never bad in bis
life." "No, Primus, I would not have you touch
him on my account, but just give him a warning
from me : Tell bim gun-boat or no gun-boat,
Yanks or no Yanks, if he dares to address one in-
sulting word to me I will give him my horse-whip
if I am bung for it tbe next moment.'' Alter tliat
he avoided me, but I was provoked immeasurably
by his conduct on the afternoon of my departure
from Edenton. I went upon the little steamer
which was to convey me to Norfolk, and Primus
and Gabe were busily engaged with my trunks
when Cupid made his appearance accompanied hy
some half dozen of his friends, all very drunk. He
and they commenced by jeering at Primus and
Gabe for their attentions to me, addressing them in
the most insulting terms and bantering them for
a ^' fist fight." Growing bolder at length they in-
terposed between the steamer and my trunks, and
swore that they should not be carried on board.
Seizing a club, I sprang ashore, intending to
settle tbe matter summarily, but my faithful friends
were in advance of me, and in a moment they were
wielding two good hickories which they had pre-
pared for tbe occasion, and with so much efi'ect that
the intruders were driven back precipitately, wbile

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 353

my faithful friends were left masters of the field.
Assisted by some other sympathetic darkeys, they
soon liad the trunks on board ; and with a liberal
reward to them and a friendly shake of their hon-
est hands I bade them adieu, and started out to re-
trieve my shattered fortunes — to recommence the
battle of life. I never saw the traitor again, but
I heard that shortly afterward he shipped in a ves-
sel for New York, and some six years subsequently
I received a letter from his mother asking for some
intelligence respecting him, as from the day of his
departure he never had been heard of. I have no
doubt that he ended his days in a penitentiary.
Since then I have had no opinion of mulattoes, be-
lieving that, as a general rule, they inherit the
vices of the white man without the redeeming vir~
tues of the negro.

I have referred to the presence of the gun-boats
in the bay, and I must take this occasion to men-
tion the courtesy which their officers extended to
me. Immediately on my arrival Captain Sands —
the paymaster of the fleet — accompanied by several
officers called to pay their respects, and from that
time forward the most cordial relations existed be-
tween them and myself. Commodore McComb
overwhelmed me with civilities, and he and all
connected with him manifested their warmest sym-
pathy for us in connection with the unnatural will
to which I have referred in another portion of this
narrative.

During the entire period of the war and for
some months afterward, the sounds and rivers
of the eastern section of Nortli Carolina swarmed
with gun-boats, and their officers were brought into
daily association with our people, and I am proud
to record the fact that their conduct was universally
kind, just and considerate. Both at home and
23

354 A doctor's experiences

abroad I have had an ample opportunity of form-
ing a proper estimate of the officers of the United
States Navy, and I have no hesitation in saying
that J as a class, they are an ornament to society
and an honor to their country — that they are es-
sentially and pre-eminently gentlemen.

I do not like to describe Eden ton as I found it
after the war. It had 2:»reviously been known as the
"Athens of North Carolina," renowned for the
education, culture, and high tone of its people, and
beautiful beyond compare in luxuriant gardens,
shaded streets, drooping cyj^resses, grassy greens,
and tasteful mansions. Besides, I never knew a
place in which public sentiment possessed so healthy
and vigorous a tone ; where virtue, decency, and
respectability were so highly esteemed, and whose
social lines were drawn with such absolute sharp-
ness and unfailing accuracy.

Though not a hostile gun was fired within its
limits, the war completely changed its character
and aspect. It mingled and remolded its social
elements ; raised up a multitude of pretentious
oracles in place of a unique and dominating public
sentiment ; destroyed the prestige and the spirit of
its people, and transformed the place into a mere
specter of its former self. Four years of peril and
apprehension silenced the voice alike of religion,
law, taste and social obligation, and left it chaotic
and perturbed in all regards.

As conspicuous as had been the part which I had
played in the community, and as great as were the
services rendered both by my father and the rector,
I found myself almost forgotten there — a veritable
fossil of some traditional period — with scarcely an
acquaintance to confer with or a friend to depend
upon. I felt, indeed, like a second Rip Van Win-
kle, with everything strange around me, and I the

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 355

strangest of them all. When human nature is
removed from the restraints of society, and left to
the domination of its own inherent selfishness — to
the pursuit exclusively of its individual ends and
interests — it straightway becomes callous, con-
tracted and contemptible in a manner and to. a
degree that no previous calculation can determine,
and only a personal experience can appreciate.
This has been my experience, and I record it as
such for your edification.

It is but jast to say, however, that the old place
has gradually recovered from its physical prostra-
tion and its moral debasement, and is rapidly re-
gaining its pristine character and its wonted at-
tractiveness.

356 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XXIV.

BALTIMORE AFTER THE WAR.

My Dear Doctor :

I left Baltimore occupying a conspicuous position,
in the possession of independent means, the idol of
an enthusiastic class, the pet of an admiring com-
munity, and with everything in life wearing the
freshness and glamour of a May morning. I re-
turned to find myself dispossessed of my chair, be-
reftof my property, forgotten by my pupils, ignored
by my friends, and with everything around and
before me covered with the blight and gloom
of December.

On many a morning I awakened to the conscious-
ness that I had not a cent of money in my pocket,
nor a crust of bread in my house. Poverty, nay,
a,ctual want stared me in the face for many an anxious
month. Because we had decent clothes to wear
few realized that we were suffering for the neces-
saries of life — for food to eat and fuel to keep us
warm. Without means, annoyed by the demands
■of pretended creditors, importuned for assistance
by still more impoverished relatives and comrades,
having no friends upon whom I could call for assist-
ance, and almost maddened by the pressing neces-
sities of those who were nearest and dearest to me,
my life at that period was simply a prolonged
agony — an existence whose component elements
were clouds, darkness and despair. I was saved
from utter failure — from the poor-house or the basin

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 35*7

— by the kindness o^ four persons upon whom Iliad
no claim luhatever, but who in the providence of
God came to my rescue in that dire extremity,
Yotc sought me, and by your kind sympathy, your
brave and self-sacrificing championship, inspired
me with the courage to breast the storm and to
defy its power. General Boiverman, a Federal sol-
dier whose house adjoined my own, by sending us
food daily in the guise of delicacies for a sick child,
actually saved us from starvation. Mr. Daniel
Dorsey, the proprietor of Barnum's Hotel, also
proved a friend. Having had the good fortune to
attract his attention by some happy cures among
his guests he gave me the practice of his house,,
which furnished enough of ready money to supply
my most pressing wants. And, finally, my
old friend, Joseph 31. Levy^ the gambler of the-
Sweet Chalybeate, appeared upon the scene and
played the role of a faithful and a most liberal
benefactor.

He owed me an account for professional services
rendered before the war, and I sent an agent to
hunt him up and to ascertain if he was sufficiently
"flush" to permit him to settle with me without
embarrassment to himself. My agent informed me
that he had no difficulty in finding him, and that
when he presented my bill tears came rolling into
the old fellow's eyes, and he said: "What! has
my old friend and physician turned up at last !
Thank God for it ! Of course I will pay the bill.
I would do so with pleasure were it ten times as
much. Take the money to him with my comiDli-
ments, and tell him that I shall call on him to-
morrow."

Sure enough^ he presented himself on the next
day, and so well dressed that I hardly recognized
him as he rushed into the room, threw his arm&

358 A doctor's experiences

around me, and exclaimed: ^' Thank God that I
have lived to see you again, my dear, dear friend!"
I was greatly touched by the old man's kindly
greeting, and I begged him to be seated and to tell
me what he had been doing with himself during
the long years of our separation. ^' What have I
been doing?" he answered, ''why, I have been
getting rich. While you have been throwing your
time and your money away in that devilish war
the good Lord has been taking care of me — He has
been putting enough money in my pocket to make
me comfortable for the rest of my days. And, be-
sides, I have been getting me a new wife, my old
one having died soon after you left town of cancer
of the stomach, according to your prediction."

Upon questioning him further, I ascertained that
his brother. Commodore Levy, had died two years
previously, leaving a will which divided the whole
of his fortune between the United States and the
State of Virginia ; that the will had been set aside
by the courts for indefiniteness ; that the real
estate was soon to be sold and divided, and that
the portion coming to each of the heirs-at-law
would not be less than forty thousand dollars.

" Yes, at least forty thousand dollars, my dear
friend, and I shall be ready to divide the last cent
with you," he added with an earnestness which
made my heart leap.

'' With me!" I said. " Divide with me ! What
in God's name have I done to merit such gener-
osity?"

'' You treated me like a gentleman when every
one else turned his back on me. You saved my
life when I was at the jumping-off place, and as
long as I have a cent it belongs to you as much as
it does to me," he answered.

" But what will your new wife say, my friend?"

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 359

'' Oh, she married me when I was a poor man,
and she will be satisfied with what I give her ; be-
sides, I shall have enough for both of you," was
his reply. " By the way," he went on to say, " I
am not overflush at present, but I have brought
fifty dollars for you, supposing that you were hard
up. In three weeks I shall have my property and the
next day I shall send you a thousand dollars to help
to keep the pot a-biling until you can get into busi-
ness. The fact is, I am going to help you, and I
don't care a cuss what you or anybody else may
say on the subject. Where is your good wife? I
want to see her, too."

'' Mr. Levy," I said, blubbering like a baby, "I
don't know how to thank you. You can never
comprehend what^a service you have rendered me
— even by a loan of fifty dollars — what a load you
have taken from my heart by your great kindness,
your unlooked-for and most princely generosity.
You will find me a friend, and a most grateful and
devoted one, to the last day of my life. Let me
€all my wife ; she will be as grateful as I am."

My wife came into the room and greeted the old
man in that sweet, kindly way which belonged to
her ; and I shall never forget the smile which
illumined her face, as with great drops standing in
her eyes, she glanced for a moment toward Heaven
in mute but eloquent gratitude for the succor which
had so unexpectedly come to us in our hour of su-
premest adversity and trial. "Bless you! God
bless you, Mr. Levy !" she exclaimed, as she ex-
tended her hands to the old man in token of her ap-
preciation and thankfulness.

Alas for human calculations ! In a day or two
after this interview he was seized with a malady
which defi.ed my skill, and died within a week —
before he had come into his inheritance. He did

360 A doctor's experiences

not forget me, however. On the day preceding
liis death he made a will, in w^hich, after bequeath-
ing two-thirds of his property to his wile, and
leaving several legacies to charitable institutions,
he divided the remainder equally between another
old friend and myself. He supposed that he had
given me at least five thousand dollars, and he
died consoled and tranquilized by the reflection
that he had saved me from want and had started
me in life. This gift would have been, indeed, a
god-send, could I have obtained possession of it at
that moment, but it was otherwise ordained. Mr.
Levy's heirs-at-law, a brother and sister, w^ho had
profited equally with him by the indefiniteness of
the Commodore's bequest and who had not been
on speaking terms with him for ten years, were in-
duced to contest this will; and it was only after
several years of annoyance and delay that the case
was decided. Of course, the will was established
as soon as it could be discussed upon its merits, and
I received my long-expected legacy, but greatly
reduced^ as at least one-half of the estate was con-
sumed in court expenses and lawyers' fees. Noth-
ing could have been more unjust than this contest,
as its instigator well knew in the premises and as
was made apparent in the trial of the case.

The grounds upon which this iniquitous pro-
ceeding was based were allegations to the effect
that the parties were not legally married ; that
undue influence had been brought to bear upon
the mind of the testator, and that he was non com-
pos merdis when the instrument was executed.
After several years of delay and sundry offers of
compromise the case was finally called for trial,
when the wife produced in court not only her mar-
riage certificate but the clergyman who performed
the ceremony and a number of persons^who at-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 361

tended the wedding; while the other grounds of
contest were so effectually disposed of b}^ the testi-
mony of many disinterested witnesses that the law-
yers for the defense found it unnecessary to make
an argument and the jury requested permission to
return an affirmative verdict without leaving the
room.

And yet it was possible for a greedy attorney
and two unprincipled heirs to institute proceedings
and to prolong them for three years in the hope of
obtaining money through the instrumentality of a
compromise or by the breaking of a will which
gave the bulk of a man's property to the wife of
his bosom and was executed according to the strict-
est requirements of the law. Surely our statutes
in regard to the matter of wills require some radi-
cal change, having for its object the restraint of
hungry attorneys and the protection of defenseless
legatees.

Messrs. Wallis and Dallam, the attorneys for
the will, and splendid gentlemen as well, congrat-
ulated me on the manner in which my testimony
was given, and Mr. Steele, who entered the cause
at a late hour and in good faith, sought my ser-
vices in another case of importance, saying, in that
connection: "I have sought you because of the
manner in which you gave your testimony in the
Levy case. The story which you then told of your
relations with that old man was one of the most
interesting I ever heard, and you are the only wit-
ness that I have ever failed to shake in a cross-ex-
amination." "Ah!" said I, '"truth is stranger
than fiction,' and you had to do with a witness
who had the facts upon his side, and who was
pleading for the rights and interests of a suffering
family. Besides, having had experience as a lec-
turer, I am accustomed to think upon my feet, and

362 A doctor's experiences

am not abashed by having to ^speak in public on
the stage.' " The best part of the whole matter,
excepting the handling of the money, was that the
judge who tried the case — the Hon. Gr. W. Dob-
bin— became from that time one of my warmest
friends.

The clouds gradually cleared away and the sun
began again to shine for me ; and the first use
which I made of my prosperity was to organize
another medical school in Baltimore. Through
the influence of Dr. Thomas W. Bond I secured
the charter of a defunct school, improvised a fac-
ulty, organized a dispensary, and established the
Washington University, in opposition to the Uni-
versity of Maryland. The greatest good fortune
attended the effort. By establishing a "benefic-
iary system" with reference to the disabled soldiers
of the South, large classes were immediately at-
tracted. By persistent appeals to the legislature
of Maryland a liberal appropriation was promptly
secured. By proper representations to the city
council it was induced to sell us a building admir-
ably suited to our purposes at a mere nominal
price. By good management the collector of the
port was persuaded to give us the contract for at-
tending the sailors, thus supplying us with abund-
ant material for our clinics. And by sound judg-
ment and good diplomacy the school was made a
success in all regards. In vain was it railed at as
"Warren's school," a scheme for "personal re-
venge," and an "eleemosynary institution." It
stood and grew and flourished with each succeed-
ing year, and took a high position alike in Balti-
more and throughout the Union. In this enter-
prise I was ably seconded by Drs. Byrd, Scott,
Ford, Logan, Chancellor, Moorman, Claggett and

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 363

Powell, natives of the South and gentlemen of
character and talent.

Unfortunately, differences arose in the faculty
in regard to matters of management, etc., which
resulted in nay retirement and in the final disrup-
tion of the school. Nothing daunted, and still
believing the field an inviting one, I united with
Drs. Opie, Byrd, Howard, Lynch, Goolrick* and
Murray — all excellent men — in the organization of
another school, which we called '^The College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore," and which
proved likewise a splendid success, and is to-day
one of the leading institutions of the country. In
both of these schools I occupied the chair of sur-
gery, and with what success you are better able to
judge than myself. I will only say that my thorough
training in anatomy by Dr. Davis, of the Univer-
sity of Virginia, and my extensive surgical experi-
ience during the war^ greatly lightened my labors,
a,nd enabled me to secure the confidence and good-
will of my classes to an extent that was exceedingly
gratifying to my amour propre and very unpalata-
ble to my rivals generally.

Professor Nathan R. Smith, the surgeon of the
University of Maryland — and a very great surgeon
he was — could brook no rivalry, and made it a point
to give me a shot whenever the occasion offered.
Of course, I returned the fire to tlie best of my
ability. On one occasion in a public lecture he
sneered at my clinic as "a comedy — a comedy of
errors. " On the day succeeding, when a number of
his students were present, I referred to the remark
and said : ^' Since histrionic comparisons have been

*To Dr. Goolrick, who is now a successful practitioner in the
city of Washington, I desire to return mj^ sincere thanks for
some recent favors, in connection with which he showed
himself a faithful friend and an able coadjutor.

364 A doctor's experiences

invited, the clinics of the vieillard of the University
remind me of tragedies — they always culminate in
a death," referring to the ill success wliich had
attended some of his operations. This remark
brought down the house tremendously and ban-
ished the visitors for the remainder of the session.
I struck a blow for which I was never forgiven.

In the whole of this controversy I was prompted
by no feelings of personal malignity — though God
knows I had sufficient justification for it — but by a
spirit of rivalry such as the occasion warranted and
was legitimate in itself. Can you say as much for
my opponents ? I fear not, my friend, as you came
near losing the friendship of one of the most promi-
nent of them by your manly championship of me.
Of one thing I am convinced as my mind reverts
to that time and its incidents : every moment which
was thus given to medical instruction and to col-
leoje mana2:ement was absolutelv wasted so far as
my most essential interests were concerned. I
should have been happier then and richer now if I
had devoted myself exclusively to the study and
practice of medicine. It is difficult to serve twa
masters, and the physician who devotes himself
either to talking politics or to teaching medicine is
to that extent faithless to his proper calling — the
healing of the sick and the accumulation of means
for his family. The advice which I would give to
a young physician stai^ting out in his career is to
avoid both the political arena and the lecture room
if he desires substantial professional prosperity.
These side issues in medicine may pay in ephem-
eral glory, but not in substantial success and ^'ple-
thoric bank accounts.' ' And yet there is something
in the title and the prerogatives of a professor
which is wonderfully fascinating, as I know from
experience and observation. When a man has

IN" THREE CONTINENTS. 365

made his mark and accumulated a competency, a
college chair is a very coDifortable place for him to
end his days in, but until then it is best to avoid
it, as you have had the good sense to do.

By way of episode I give the incident related
below, believing that though rather out of place it
may not prove uninteresting.

During the retreat of General Johnston's army
through Raleigh, I was requested to visit a Con-
federate officer who lay wounded at the house of
Major Devereux, a short distance from the city.

I found him a remarkably handsome young
fellow, from South Carolina, and the brother of a
distinguished cavalry general who has since played
a conspicuous part in the politics of that State.

He had been wounded a few days previously by
a conical ball, which passed through the upper arm
immediately above the elbow joint, and he was re-
duced to the last degree of prostration by repeated
hemorrhages of the most profuse and uncontrollable
character.

Of delicate organization, enfeebled by forced
marches and insufficient food, and almost exsan-
guinated. I found him with a rapid and scarcely
perceptible pulse, bathed in a clammy perspiration,
and almost in a state of positive collapse.

It seemed indeed as if death had already claimed
him for its own, and that he had but a few hours to
live, though his intellect was unclouded, and there
was a glint in his clear blue eye which told of a
hopeful nature and an indomitable spirit.

The surgeofi in attendance, having in vain at-
tempted to prevent the recurrence of the hemor-
rhage, and realizing that he could not spare the
loss of an additional amountof blood, had determined
to ligate the artery above the wound, and I was

866 A doctor's experiences

called in to determine tlie propriety of the operation
and to assist in its performance if necessary.

'' His condition is desperate," I remarked, when
we had retired for consultation.

^'That is undoubtedly true," responded my
colleague, ''and prompt interference is necessary
to give him a chance for life. The artery is severed
and must be tied or he wdll certainly bleed to
death . ' '

" Have you made a thorough examination of the
wound? Are you sure that the bone has escaped in-
jury ? Are you convinced that an amputation is
unnecessary ?" I inquired.

" No, Doctor, I have not made a thorough ex-
ploration of the injury. He has positively refused
to permit me to make an examination. The profuse
and repeated bleeding shows what we have to deal
with, and establishes the indication for treatment,"
he answered.

" But^ suppose that together with the severance
of the artery there is a compound and comminuted
fracture of the humerus, involving the articulation,
would it not be better to ascertain it, and to am-
putate the limb rather than tie the vessel? My
impression is that if Captain B. survives, he will
go through life wdth an empty sleeve — that sooner
or later he must lose his arm. The proper course
is to get ready either to ligateor to amputate, then
to put him under the influence of chloroform, and
after having determined the precise nature and ex-
tent of the injury, to perform the operation which
the circumstances of the case demand. I think we
shall end by amputating the arm. Doctor," was my
rejoinder. My suggestion was adopted, with the
result of discovering — as I had predicted — a com-
pound comminuted fracture of the humerus, involv-
ing the articulation, and surrounding it a pultaceous

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 36T

mass of devitalized tissues, in which the ends of the
severed artery were unrecognizahle. Amputation
at a point of election was immediately performed^
and though every possible measure of precaution
and means for bringing about reaction were em-
ployed, the patient reacted so slowly — so profound
a condition of collapse ensued — that for a long time
I thought he would inevitably succumb. He did
rally, however, in the end, but I left him scarce
daring to hope that there was a chance for his re-
covery, believing in fact that death was almost in-
evitable under the circumstances.

The two succeeding days were spent, as I have
previously related, in the society of Sherman and
Kilpatrick, but I sent a messenger so soon as cir-
cumstances would admit to inquire concerning his
condition, and you can judge of my astonishment
when I learned that at the approach of the enemy
he insisted upon being placed in an ambulance and
driven off with the retreating army — -declaring
that he meant to die as he had lived, a '' freeman,"
and to be buried by his friends " in the old grave-
yard at Edgefield."

Some months subsequent to the surrender I was
seated in my office at Baltimore, when a tall^ hand-
some blue-eyed young man, with an empty sleeve
dangling at his side, entered, and with the ex-
clamation : ''I am delighted to see you once more,
Dr. Warren," threw his remaining arm around my
neck, and embraced me in the most demonstrative
manner.

''But, my dear sir/' I exclaimed, "You have
the advantage of me. I do not recognize you."

" Don't know me? lam Captain B , whose

life you saved at Major Devereux's house, just
before Johnston's retreat."

368 A doctor's experiexces

My allusion recently made to law courts reminds
me to claim some professional triumphs in connec-
tion with them, which I have always contemplated
with pride and satisfaction. In one case a poor
fellow had been arraigned for the murder of his
wife, to whom I knew him to be greatly attached,
it being alleged that he had given her a blow in
his rage at her desertion of him, which developed
puerperal fever after her confinement. Without
friends or the means with which to employ counsel,
he appealed to me for sympathy and assistance, and
I devoted myself to an investigation of the case
with the result of rendering the giving of the blow
problematical, and of proving that the sage femme
had communicated the disease to the wife. He was
therefore promptly acquitted, and some time after-
ward, when the wife of the judge who presided at
the trial was attacked with puerperal fever, he
had me called as a consulting physician. It thus
happened that my intervention resulted in the res-
cue of the accused from an ignominious death upon
the gallows, and in securing for myself the confi-
dence and friendship of Judge G-ilmore, who then
presided over the Criminal Court of Baltimore.
In another instance a negro woman had been con-
victed of the crime of infanticide, and the day for
her execution had been appointed. At the request
of Mr. W. H. Perkins — than whom there are few
more genuine humanitarians — I determined to in-
vestigate the evidence produced against her, with
a view of securing the clemency of the governor.
Having before me a memorandum of the " proof of
guilt," the accuracy of which was indorsed by the
State's attorney, I devoted myself to a study of the
case for an entire week, and then wrote out with
great care an argument in support of the proposi-
tion that the child had never breathed, and that it

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 369

had not been subjected to violence. This paper
was duly submitted to the Executive of the State,
and upon the strength of it he promptly intervened
and saved the poor creature's life. He subsequently
stated that my argument was unanswerable ; and
few things in life have given me more satisfaction
than the reflection that I was directly instrumental
in saving the life of an innocent woman, and espe-
cially of one who was poor, friendless and for-
saken.
24

3Y0 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XXV.

THE WHAETOX CASE.

My Dear Doctor:

The other instance in which I can claim to have
saved a human being from the gallows was the
famous case of Mrs. Wharton, who was tried at
Annapolis in the winter of '71-' 72 for the alleged
poisoning of General Ketchum. Some time in the
summer of 1871 I was sent for by Mr. Thomas,
the well-known advocate of Baltimore, between
whom and myself the following conversation oc-
curred :

Mr. Thomas: "Dr. Warren, I have taken the
liberty of sending for you to ask you a few ques-
tions, and then to make a request of you. Let me
begin by asking what you think of Mrs. Wharton ?"

Dr. Warren: '' I know nothing about her save
what the papers state, viz: that she has killed
General Ketchum, and has been arrested for it. I
take it for granted that she is guilty."

Mr. Thomas: " Is your opinion of her guilt so
firmly fixed in your mind as to preclude you from
making a candid investigation of the medical facts
of the case ?"

Dr. Warren : '^I certainly have no prejudice
against the woman."

Mr. Thomas : '^lamgladto hear you say so,
Doctor. I have confidence in your judgment, and
in your courage to maintain your opinions. I want
you then to do me the favor to examine the facts of

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 371

this case — to investigate them candidly, and in the
interest of truth and justice alone — and then to in-
form me of your conclusions. Will you do this
for me, Dr. Warren?"

Dr. Warren: '' My decision, Mr. Thomas, will
depend upon your response to one preliminary
question. Do you as a man — as a gentleman — he-
lieve her innocent? Of course as her lawyer you
€an exercise your own discretion whether to answer
it or not." •

Mr. Tliomas: ^'I have not the slightest hesita-
tion in answering the question. I believe her to
be absolutely innocent."

Dr. Warren: " That settles the matter. I will
make the most searching examination provided
that you procure for me a written statement from
the physicians who attended G-eneral Ketchum of
exactly what they observed in the way of ante-
-mortem symptoms and post-ynortem lesions. You
must also give me ample time to make this exam-
ination, and speak to no other physician on the
subject until I have made my report. At the same
time I shall claim the privilege of conferring with
my friend, Dr. John Morris, for I am in the habit
of talking freely to him on all subjects."

He consented to my conditions, and in a few
days he brought to me written statements from the
attending physicians as to what they had observed
at the bed-side and upon the dissecting table. For
several weeks I devoted myself to an examination
of the facts thus presented, seeking with an un-
biased mind and an impartial judgment to elimi-
nate " the truth and nothing but the truth" from
them. I then sought Mr. Thomas, and unfolded
the process of reasoning by which I had arrived at
the conclusion, that both symptoms and lesions
2orecluded the loossihility of a death from antimonial

372 A doctor's experiences

poisoning, and that it more probably resulted from
a disease known as cerebro spinal meningitis, which
had prevailed in an epidemic form in Baltimore
contemporaneously with General Ketchum's fatal
sickness.

Before reading these notes I requested him to
endeavor to find some defect in my argument, as
I had been unable to detect one. He heard me
through with all the powers of his well-trained
mind directed to the discovery of a flaw in the
chain of reasoning with which I sought to bind
together my premises and my conclusion, and when
I had finished the task, he arose from his chair and
shook me warmly by the hand, with the exclama-
tion : "Complete, perfect, unanswerable. Our
case is won — an innocent woman is saved from the
gallows."

^' I am glad you like it," I answered. "To my
mind it is unansAverable, and I am delighted to
find that it appears so to you."

" It is a demonstration and will stand any test.
I must send for Mr. Steele at once, and then ask
you to go over the ground with him, for I want
his mind enlightened and satisfied as mine has
been."

Mr. Steele entered the room wearing an anxious
expression of countenance, which even the favor-
able assurances of his confrere did not dissipate, re-
marking: " You will have a tremendous array of
talent against you, Dr. Warren. The current of
public opinion sets so strongly against Mrs. Whar-
ton that I can't induce the medical friends' upon
whom I relied for help to have anything to do with
the case. But let me hear what you have prepared."

" I have taken all that you say into considera-
tion already," I replied, " and T beg you, as I have
already begged Mr. Thomas, to point- ont any weak

IN THREE CONTINENTS. * 373

point — any defective link — in my chain of reason-

ing."

Read on, then, and we shall see," he answered
rather gruffly, evidently mistaking my great solici-
tude for rampant egotism.

He placed his hands behind him and paced the
room as I read, testing my ever}^ word and idea in
the crucible of his analytic mind, and when I had
concluded he turned suddenly and said: "There
is no weak point in it ; from beginning to end it is
^s strong as iron ; we shall save her, brother
Thomas, never mind who the doctor may have ar-
rayed against him, and whether those I counted on
€ome up to the mark or not. Now, Doctor, let
me advise you to keep your argument to yourself
so that the other side will not attempt to refute it
in advance."

'' As for that, Mr. Steele, I am perfectly willing
to submit it to the hazard of any answer that can
be prepared against it, for truth is mighty and will
prevail against the world, the flesh and the devil.
Nevertheless, I shall take your advice, so as to make
assurance doubly sure. Let me give some advice
in turn : be sure to employ the best chemical ex-
perts that can be found, for the attempt may be
made to produce the metal and thereby to give a
practical answer to everything that may be said in
regard to symptoms and lesions. I am confident
that there never was a particle of antimony in
General Ketchum's body, but you must have
scientific witnesses on hand to expose any trick
that. may be attempted in that connection," said I,
as I folded up my manuscript and bade them
" good morning," duly satisfied with the estimate
they had placed upon my work.

As you were present at that exciting trial it is
unnecessary to enter into details respecting it, and

374 A doctor's experiences

I will, therefore simply confine myself to my per-
sonal experiences at Annapolis. In due course I
was placed upon the witness stand, and in a lecture
of several hours' duration I unfolded the argument
which had already given so much satisfaction ta
the attorneys for the defense.

I am sure you will bear me out in saying that its
effect upon the jury was such as to render the ac-
quittal of the prisoner almost a matter of certainty.

I had hardly regained my hotel, however, before
the lawyers for the defense came to me, and, with the
gravest of countenances, said : " We have come, Dr.
Warren, in the first x>^o.ce to congratulate you on
your evidence, which was the clearest and most logi-
cal that could have been given, and to our minds is
absolutely unanswerable, but we have to tell you,
in the second place, that the other side profess ta
be as well satisfied as we are, declaring that, as
subtle and plausible as your theories appear, they
will shatter their foundation to-morrow — that you
have unconsciously walked into ' a trap,' with
which you are to be caught and hung up to ridi-
cule and ruin in the cross-examination. Are you
absolutely sure of your positions? Have you an
idea of what they mean by these confident threats
— these bold assurances ?"

"My dear sirs," 1 answered, "it is talk, the
merest bravado. I am confident of my positions.
I have weighed, measured and analyzed every
stone alike of their foundation and their super-
structure, and they will stand any test. I assure
you. I know every man with whom we have to
deal and I am not in the least afraid of their criti-
cism."

" Well," said they, "we are perfectly satisfied
with the work of to-day, and w^e hope and believe
that you will sustain yourself to-morrow ;" and

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 3T5

they tlien retired rather more cheerful in spirit, but
still very anxious as to the result of the cross-ques-
tioning.

First one friend and then another called after-
ward, each jubilant over what had already oc-
curred, and yet apprehensive in regard to what
was to follow ; but I maintained to them all the
same confident and self-assured manner.

I made it a point to attend a ball at the hotel that
night, wearing a smiling countenance, but still an-
noyed because of 'Hhe trap " which confronted me-
in the glances and greetings of every one. After
retiring to my chamber, I remained until nearly
daybreak poring over my books in search of the-
snare which had thus been set for my feet, but it was-
not until after I had slept an hour or two — uneasily
and without a sense of repose — that I suddenly
awoke to a realization of the precise point at which
I had seemingly made &> faux pas ^ and was to be so
mercilessly impaled by my delighted adversarieSo.
Dressing hurriedly, I hastened to the court-house^
and deposited under the desk which had been as-
signed to Mr. Steele the materials with which I
proposed to baffle my over-confident adversaries
and to transform "the trap" which had been pre-
pared for me into a "dead-fall " for them, as I felt
assured of my ability to do.

When I resumed my place in the witness-stand
I found the room filled with an audience which
had especially assembled to witness and enjoy my
immolation. I perceived, also, that the opposing
doctors were present in full force, occupying con-
tiguous seats, their countenances wreathed with
smiles of anticipated triumph, and their note-
books spread ostentatiously before them, ready to
receive the record of my humiliation and disgrace.
The attorney-general was in the finest of spirits^

376 A doctor's experiexces

liis gray eyes twinkling with fun, his rotund fig-
ure expanding with jollity, and his every expres-
sion taking the form of a quirk or a pleasantry.
The excited crowd seemed in humor for the sport,
and rewarded his points and bon mots with nods of
approval or roars of laughter. Indeed, it seemed
a veritable "field day" tor my enemies, and that,
like the gladiator of other days, I was doomed to
be —

Butchered to make a Roman holiday.

Mr. Syester soon finished with his playful pre-
lude, and settled down to the serious work of the
occasion — the springing of " the trap " which had
been prepared for my destruction.

It was somewhat in this wise that the plan was
developed and carried to its conclusion :

Lawyer : "■ Did I understand you on yesterday
to say that Dr. Stille, of Philadelphia, is a recog-
nized authority?"

D octor : ' ' Certainly . ' '

Lawyer : "Is he not recognized especially as an
authority in regard to cerebro spinal meningitis?"

Doctor: " He has written an able work on that
subject and is recognized as an authority by the
profession."

Lawyer: "After such an admission what would you
say if I should show you that he differs materially
from you on an important point relating to that
disease?"

Doctor: "I should be greatly surprised, and I
should be disposed to consider myself mistaken."

Lawyer: "That's an honest confession, but a
fatal one ; for with it your grand lecture of yester-
day and all its magnificent theories and confident
conclusions fall to the ground, a mass of ruins —
with a professor and an expert buried beneath

m THREE CONTINENTS. 377

them. There is a radical difference between you
and Dr. Stille in regard to one of the most essen-
tial points in your hypothesis respecting the cause
of General Ketchum's death. What have you to
say for yourself- in view of such a contradiction?"

Doctor: '^I have simply to inquire in what re-
gard he thus contradicts me."

Lawyer : '' Oh, I will make it plain enough. I
will soon show you the grave which j'-ou have dug
for yourself. Don't be the least apprehensive on
that point." Here he was interrupted by such a
storm of applause from the audience that he could
scarcely proceed. "I hold in my hand," he re-
sumed, " a copy of Stille's work on cerebro spinal
meningitis — the disease from which you allege that
Oeneral Ketchum died . 0 n page — he states emphat-
ically that this disease invariably leaves behind cer-
tain definite lesions in the brain and spinal cord.
No such lesions were found in the brain and spinal
€ord of Greneral Ketchum, and in order to recon-
cile that fact with your theory, you stated that cere-
bro spinal meningitis frequently terminates fatally
without leaving any lesion whatsoever . There is,
therefore, a palpable difference between Dr. Stille
and yourself, and by acknowledging his superior
authority you admit your oiun error, and you and
your theory fall together — a common wreck. Your
evidence, in fact, amounts to nothing, and you
are caught and crushed in ''the trap" which was
set for you. What have you to say for yourself?
Where do you stand now, Professor Edward War-
ren?"

It certainly looked as if I had been caught and
was annihilated ; and it was in vain that the
judges rapped and the bailiffs cried '^Silence," for
the audience, transported with delight at my ap-
parent discomfiture, gave expression to its satis-

378 A doctor's experiences

faction in the most enthusiastic applause. When
order was restored — though the audience continued
to scowl at me as if I were the murderer — I an-
swered in this wise :

Doctor : '''I have only this to say, sir : 1 stand
just where I stood before. ' The trap ' is not strong
enough for the quarry. Turn to page — , para-
graph — , and you will see that Still e states ex-
plicitly that there are tivo varieties of cerebro spinal
meningitis, viz : the fulminant and the inflammatory ^
and that he proposes to discuss only the latter form
of the disease. I stated distinctly on yesterday
that, in all probability, Ketchum died of fulmi-
na7it cerebro spinal meningitis— that variety of the
disease which does frequently terminate fatally
without leaving a lesion behind it. There is then
no difference between Dr. Stille and myself, and I
am neither ' caught' nor annihilated.

' ' In proof of the truth of my position that fulmi-
nant cerebro spinal meningitis terminates fatally
without leaving a discoverable lesion behind it, I
will thank Mr. Steele to open the trunk beneath his
desk, and to find and read the authorities for this
statement as I shall indicate them." I then drew
a paper from my pocket, and called for some
twenty-five authorities, each stating in the most
explicit terms that the fulminant variety of cerebro
spinal meningitis ''frequently terminates fatally
without leaving an appreciahle lesion either in the
brain or spinal cord."

" The trap " which had been prepared for my
destruction was thus converted into a " dead-fall '^
for my adversaries, and my triumph was made com-
plete while their defeat was correspondingly ren-
dered conspicuous.

The disappointed crowd retired in disgust ; my
baffled opponents folded their note-books and

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 379

looked as if they had been convicted of some
crime ; the lawyers for the defense beamed with
smiles of delight and triumph, and in the sorrow-
ful eyes of the accused there gleamed the light of
hope and thankfulness.

The attorney-general then lost his temper, and
the following scenes followed each other, after a
few rambling questions :

Lawyer : " Where would this lead to, Dr. War-
ren ? " — supposing some hypothetical case.

Doctor : "I cannot tell, as the hypothesis itself
is absurd."

Lawyer : " But you medical men ought to know
all about these medical matters."

Doctor: ''I suppose we know as much about
these medical matters as you lawyers."

Lawyer: '^ No, sir; you doctors have the ad-
vantage of us. You bury your mistakes six feet
under the earth."

Doctor : " Yes, and you lawyers ha7ig your mis-
takes in the air," pointing significantly to Mrs.
Wharton.

This rejoinder was received with such applause
— despite the prejudice of the audience — that the
judges were compelled to adjourn the court for
some moments in order that order might be suffi-
ciently restored for the transaction of its business.
Upon the reassembling of the court the cross-ex-
amination was resumed somewhat in this wise :

Lawyer : " Dr. Warren, what is to be your fee
in this case? "

I had understood that this insulting question
might be asked if all otlier means failed to break
me down, and, though almost consumed with rage,
I restrained my feelings and answered calmly.

Doctor : "I have never discussed the subject of
a fee with any one, but when the case has termi-

380 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

nated it is my purpose to demand compensation for
my services as an expert, inasmuch as the example
has been set me in that regard not alone by some
of the best men of this country and of Europe^
but hy a medical luitness for the State."

Lawyer : " Do you mean to sa}'^ that any medical
witness for the State proposes to charge for his ser-
vices as an expert in this case?"

Doctor: "I do mean to sav so most emphati-
cally."

Lawyer : "" Who is he — name him."

Doctor: " L feel some reluctance in giving his
name, as you seem to regard his proposed demand
as so grave an offense. Since you insist upon it,
however, I have to say that it is the principal
medical witness for the State. He told Dr. John
Morris on yesterday that he had been employed by
the State as an expert with the promise of remun-
eration, and he also consulted him as to whether
he should demand five hundred dollars or not."

Had a bomb-shell exploded in that court-room it
could not have produced more commotion, and the
attorney-general, utterly surprised and silenced by
this most unexpected announcement — for the ar-
rano^ement had been made by one of his subordi-
nates— permitted me to retire from the witness
gtand — not annihilated at least by the rencontre.

In confirmation of the truth of history I must
add that, notwithstanding the " card of vindica-
tion '' which appeared on the succeeding day, a
bill for one thousand dollars was subsequently pre-
sented on this account, and its payment vehemently
insisted upon. It is true that the State resisted
the demand, and thus rendered this effort to vindi-
cate the claims of the gallows "a labor of love"
after all ; but the fact that it was made still re-
mains, a testimonial to the accuracy of the in-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 381

formation which you had given me, and another
illustration of the wisdom of the adage that those
who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
It might have been " blood money " which was so
pertinaciously demanded, but for my intervention,
and yet it was fairly earned if a faithful and
prayerful effort to hang a woman can constitute
the basis of an obligation upon the part of a civil-
ized state to Christian gentlemen.

It has been said that I received a large reward
for thus rescuing Mrs. Wharton from the gallows,
but such is not the fact by any means. But for the
intervention of Mr. Thomas, I should not have re-
ceived a cent, and, as it was, I was not paid for my
services as an expert a sufficient amount to cover
necessary expenses, and to compensate for the loss
incident to an absence of nearly forty days from
my business.

So soon as I was released from the witness stand,
I prepared and sent to the attorney-general a note
insisting on a public apology for the insulting
question which he had propounded.

But there lives no kinder or truer man than
A. K. Syester, and before my note could be de-
livered he handed me a scrap of paper upon which
were w^ritten these w^ords :

^' If I can do anything to restore the good feel-
ing between Dr. Warren and myself, which I my-
self improperly interrupted- — yet not wholly with-
out provocation — I will be commanded by him. I
regretted my course the moment it was over.

''A. K. Syester.'^

He arose and said : ^^ May it please your honors.
In a moment of excitement I asked Dr. Warren a
very rude and improper question — one that I re-

382 A doctor's experiexces

grettecl so soon as the words were uttered. I,
therefore, take this occasion to express m}^ sincere
regret at what has occurred, and to say publicly
that I believe his testimony to have been as candid
and honest as it was able and scientific."

I waited for him at the door of the court-house,
gave him my hand most cordially, and offered him
a challenge which I never knew declined in Mary-
land— to join me in '^ forty drops " of the best that
the hotel could afford. We have been devoted
friends ever since and such we shall continue to
the end. As a proof of the kindliness of his feel-
ings for me I beg you to read the subjoined copy of
a letter which I received from him on the eve of
my departure for Egypt :

State of Maryland,
Office of the Attorney-General,

Hagerstown, March 25, 1873.
My Dear Doctor :

I cannot describe the unfeigned regret I expe-
rienced in your loss to us all, especially to me ; for
although I have not seen and been with you as much
as I desired, I always looked forward with pleasure
to some time when our engagements would per-
mit a closer acquaintance, and become warmed into
a firmer and more fervid friendship. I dare not
indulge the hope of hearing from you in your new
position, but not many things would prove more
agreeable to me. Present my compliments to
your wife. That you and she may ever be con-
tented and happy in life, and that you may be as
prosperous as your great talents and unequaled
acquirements so richly deserve^ is the earnest hope
of—

Your humble but undeviating friend,

A. K. Syester.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. . 383

T hope some day to see him governor of Mary-
land, for no man conld fill the office with more
honor or greater ability.

As an indication of the impression which my
evidence produced at the time, not only in Annapo-
lis but throughout the scientific world, I refer with
pleasure to the fact that I was approached succes-
sively by the judges, jury and the attorneys for
both sides, and assured by them that I had saved
Mrs. Wharton's life, while I received letters of
congratulation and commendation from a number
of the most prominent medical men of America and
Europe. Mrs. Wharton sent for me, and, while
she and her noble daughter overwhelmed me with
expressions of gratitude, she charged me to remem-
ber as a consolation in after life that I had '' served
and rescued an innocent woman."

384 . A doctor's experiences

LETTER XXVI.

THE WHARTON CASE.

My Dear Doctor :

As I have often remarked to you, General Ket-
clium surely died from some other cause than anti-
monial poisoning, as the ablest toxicologists of the
world unite in asserting, and if the accused really
poisoned any one, she was insane at the time and
oblivious of it afterward.

At any rate I acted throughout in obedienge to
the dictates of my conscience, and, though I have
had to bear much of obloquy and persecution on
account of my connection with the case, I have
never regretted the stand which I made for what
I conceived to be the true principles of science, and
the defense of a woman who was without friends
and in great tribulation.

The vilest wretch is entitled to the fairest trial,
and when appealed to "in the interest of truth and
justice" I determined that she should have one,
whether guilty or innocent, and whatever might
be the consequence to myself.

In attempting to give from memory a history of
the memorable rencontre between the attorney-
general and myself, I pretend to no accuracy save
as regards the substance-matter, of it — nearly thir-
teen years having elapsed since its occurrence.

If I have done him the slightest injustice, I
would repair it by saying that an abler officer and
a truer gentleman never represented the dignity of
a State or vindicated the majesty of the law.

m THREE CONTINENTS. 385

My assertion that cerebro spinal meningitis had
existed in an epidemic form in Baltimore was vig-
orously controverted.

In order to contradict me in that regard, the
attorney-general introduced a number of repre-
sentative practitioners from all porti(ms of the city,
each of whora testified that the disease had not as-
sumed an epidemic form in Baltimore, and that my
statement was unsustained by any fact within his
knowledge.

The attorneys for the defense completely turned
this battery upon their adversaries. They ex-
tracted from each witness the admission that sev-
eral cases of the disease had occurred in«his prac-
tice, and then, by taking the aggregate of the
whole number thus reported, showed that cerebro
spinal meningitis had prevailed extensively in Bal-
timore ; that there had been, in fact, a serious and
extreme epidemic of it contemporaneously with
General Ketchum's death.

Among these so-called " representative practi-
tioners" there was one who, by the specially of-
fensive manner in which he testified to the non-
existence of the epidemic, invited an attack from
Mr. Steele^ which he received to his utter humilia-
tion, as you will remember. Standing erect, with
a copy of the Baltimore Journal of Medicine in his
hand, he cross-examined him somewhat in this
wise :

Lawyer : '' Do you reside in Baltimore?"

Witness: '' I do, sir."

Lawyer: ^'And ^ou practice medicine there?"

Witness : " Yes, sir."

Lawyer: '"Are you acquainted with this jour-
nal?"

Witness: ^'1 am acquainted with it, sir."

Lawyer: ''Who is the author of the article
25

386 A doctor's experiences

which recently appeared in it, entitled Cerebro-
spinal Meningitis ?"

Witness: " I am the author," stammering and
trembling as if he had been caught in an act of
theft or some other disreputable proceeding.

Lawyer: ^^And you now state here that
there ' has been no epidemic of the disease in Bal-
timore/ when only a short time since you deliber-
ately wrote a paper for this journal, declaring that
' an epidemic of cerebro spinal meningitis exists at
this moment in Baltimore/ and relating the his-
tory of a number of cases which were treated by
you. Which statement is the true one ?"

From 'the discomfited and crestfallen witness
there came no answer, and, with great beads of
perspiration oozing from every pore of his hyper-
trophied epidermis, he slank away with the whine
of a castigated spaniel upon his lips and the ma-
lignity of a baffled viper in his heart.

Some months afterward, when the intervention
of seven thousand miles supplied him with an op-
portunity to strike back with fancied impunity, he
read a paper before one of the medical societies of
Baltimore, in which he charged that ''one of the
witnesses for the defense (meaning myself) had
misrepresented the facts of the case to Drs. Taylor
and Stevenson, of London, and in that way had
obtained from them ojDinions favorable to his view
of the case," The paper containing this infamous
slander was immediately sent to these gentlemen,
with the result of eliciting from them the follow-
ing letters in reply :

15 St. James' Terrace,
Regent's Park, June 27, 1874.
Dr. Warren-Bey, Cairo.

Dear Sir: Your letter dated Cairo, Jane 13,

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 387

has been forwarded to me by Dr. Stevenson. In
answer to your interrogatories, I beg leave to say
that I received a copy of the Baltimore Gazette' s
report of the Wharton-Ketchum trial. It was
addressed not to me personally, but to the " Pro-
fessor of Chemistry, Gruy's Hospital." As I had
resigned the office, the report fell into the hands
of my successor, Dr. Stevenson, and he had it in
his possession for some weeks, when he handed it
to me, as being originally intended for me.

You did not furnish me with any other statement,
report or document relating to that trial or any
other subject.

You did not, by any word, hint or act, comment
on the evidence given at that trial, or in any way
attempt to influence or bias my judgment in regard
to it.

The premises for my decision regarding the case
of General Ketchum were derived chiefly from the
report of the Baltimore Gazette — sent by you, as I
now find.

Taken as a whole, I do not consider that the
symptoms have any resemblance to those which are
observed in poisoning w^ith antimony, and a further
examination of the case has satisfied me that this is
the only conclusion to which the medical facts lead.
In the Guy's Hospital report for 1857 I collected
and reported thirty-seven cases of poisoning with
antimony. Upon the facts here collected and
others which have come to my knowledge since, I
believe that the death of General Ketchum was not
caused by antimonial poisoning.

The chemical evidence did not show conclusively
the presence of antimony in articles submitted to
analysis for evidence at the trial. There was a
fatal omission in those who attended on the de-

388 A doctor's experiences

ceased in liis last illness : the urine was not ex-
amined for antimony while the patient was living.
The only conclusion to be drawn from this omission
is that those who were in attendance on the Gen-
eral did not suspect that his was a case of antimonial
poisoning while he was living and undergoing
medical treatment, or they willfully neglected to
adopt the best mode of verifying their suspicions
and counteracting the effects of poison.

As before this occasion I have never received any
letter from you or corresponded with you in any way,
I must express my surprise that it should have been
imputed to you that you have in any way attempted
to influence my judgment. I did not even know
that you had sent me the report of the Baltimore
Gazette^ until Dr. Stevenson informed me, long
after its arrival in England. Yon have my author-
ity for stating as publicly as you please that such
an imputation is utterly untrue, and if made by a
professional man, most unjustifiable. My opinion
of the Ketch um case was formed apart from all
local influences and prejudices. Having now had
an experience of forty-three years in the sub-
jects of poisoning, and an opportunity of examining
durino' that period some hundreds of cases, I feel
myself in a position to act independently of all
hints and suggestions. To extra-forensic statements
in a case like this I give no attention.

I presume the telegram which you quote in your
letter refers to me. You are at liberty to state in
reply that no experts for prosecution or defense
made any application to me in reference to this
trial, or furnished me with any premises or infor-
mation respecting it. The whole storj' is a false-
hood from beginning to end. I see that Dr. Keese
has been implicated in the matter. I do not know

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 389

him except by name. I never wrote to him, or re-
ceived any letter from him, respecting this trial.
I am, yours, very truly,

Alfred S. Taylor.

21 Caversham Road, N. W.,

London, July 3, 1874.

To his Excellency, Warren-Bey, Cairo, Egypt.

My Dear Sir : I forwarded your letter to my
colleague, Dr. Alfred Swaine Taylor, F. R. S. ,
and he has handed me the letter which I now for-
ward to you. I have read it at his request, and I
can speak with knowledge as to the circumstances
under which hebecameacquainted with the Warton-
Ketchum case. In May, 1872, 1 received by post at
Gay's Hospital a pamphlet, being a reprint from
the Baltimore Gazette, of the report of the trial. I
had no knowledge of the case before, and was
ignorant in regard to the sending of the report un-
til I came to your evidence, when I found your
name underlined, with the simple word "compli-
ments" added in pencil. When I had read, the
report I handed it to my predecessor in the chemical
chair. Dr. Taylor.

My own opinion of the case, from reading the re-
port, was this : That the chemical evidence broke
down and did not prove that "twenty grains of
tartar emetic " were administered to General Ketch-
um ; and that the symptoms were not character-
istic of any antimonial poisoning, and might have
been produced by natural causes. Both Dr. Tay-
lor and I think that you may fairly disregard all
attacks upon your character, as every one is liable

390 A doctor's experiexces

to them. As for furnishing ^' false data," I know-
that all you furnished was the Gazette' s report.
Very truly yours, etc.,

Thomas Stevenson,
Professor of Che^nistry,
Guy's Hospital, London .

In concluding this subject, it is only just to say
that Dr. Taylor in subsequent editions of his works
on ''Poisons" and on "Medical Jurisprudence,"
which are the recognized authorities of the civilized
world, has reviewed the Wharton case, emphatically
reaffirming the opinions expressed in his letter.

But if I was victorious at Annapolis I had to pay
dearly for it in Baltimore. So great was the preju-
dice against Mrs. Wharton that the public turned
uj)on me as if I had committed the crime ; I was sub-
jected to indignities of every description ; my family
was reviled upon the public streets ; nearly all of
my patrons deserted me, and I became as impecu-
nious as in the days succeeding the surrender ; I
was subjected to a social ostracism that rendered
life a burden to me and to those connected with me.
The most absurd stories were circulated respecting
the amount and the manner of my compensation
as an expert ; and although I never saw General
Ketchum or heard of Mrs. Wharton until the death
of the one and the imprisonment of the other, the
suspicion gained credence that I was in some way
implicated in the supposed crime.

My bank account was pried into ; my every act
and word was criticised and misrepresented ; and I
was shadowed perpetually by spies and detectives.
I had been recommended for the office of coroner
by a large number of the most prominent citizens
of Maryland, but my supporters withdrew their
indorsement and a pliant legislature relieved the

IN THREE CONTINENTS.. 391

governor of his embarrassment in regard to my
promised appointment by changing the law creat-
ing the office. In a word, every humiliation and
outrage that insane prejudice and disappointed
malignity could devise was heaped upon me, and
■all because, in testifying according to my conscien-
tious convictions, I had baffled those who so per-
sistently sought the condemnation of a friendless
woman.

In the midst of these persecutions I attended a
meeting of the American Medical Association in
Philadelphia, and had an experience there which
atoned in a great measure for the outrages to which
I had been subjected in Baltimore. I was over-
whelmed with civilities and attentions. Represen-
tative men from all sections sought me out to
•express their personal sympathy, and their profes-
sional concurrence in the position which I had
taken in the case. They assured me that I was
sustained by the profession of the country, and
that I had made a reputation that would survive
the prejudices of the hour and the machinations of
those who were seeking my destruction. But they
went further than mere expressions of regard and
congratulation. I was made chairman of the sec-
tion of surgery and anatomy for the ensuing year^ a
position second only in honor to that of the presi-
dency of the association. I should have been
pleased at any time to receive so distinguished a
compliment, but, coming as it did at that critical
period in my history — when my heart was chafing
under a sense of unmerited censure and unprovoked
outrage — it soothed and inspired me to a degree
that language is inadequate to portray. Only
those who have walked through the fiery furnace
of persecution with a consciousness of rectitude
appealing perpetually against the injustice of their

392 A doctor's experiences

lot, can appreciate the happiness which pervaded
my bosom in view of this conspicuous mark of sym-
pathy and confidence — this vindication of my honor
and loyalty at the hands of the profession of the
country. I felt that I had been tried and acquitted
by my peers, and thenceforward I cared no more for
the insane rabble and the reviling schools than for
the hissing geese upon the common or the yelping
curs in the streets. Sustained by the approval of
my own conscience^ and the indorsement of the
great body of my confreres, I walked the streets of
Baltimore with as erect a head and as proud a heart
as any other honest man within its limits, leaving
my vindication to Him who is the illustration of
truth and the embodiment of justice. At that
meeting I presented to the surgical section of the
association a new splint for fractures of the clav-
icle, which attracted much attention, and is really
an' apparatus of great utility. While it keeps the
shoulder upon its normal plane and retains the
fragments in accurate apposition, it permits all the
movements of the forearm without subjecting the
patient to inconvenience. It has been tried in a
number of cases with absolute success.

And though, perhaps, something of the old pre-
judice may have been perpetuated by the breath of
professional jealousy, I lived to see the day when
I could count among my personal friends many of
the best people of the city, and could boast of as
large a class of students and as long a list of pa-
tients as the most popular of its professors and
physicians.

Amid all the trials and difficulties of that pain-
ful period, when " clouds were dark and friends
were few," you stood by me with the unfaltering
fxith and the fond affection of a brother. Circum-
stances have never permitted me to show the deptli

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 393

of the gratitude wliicli your devotion inspired, but
I have taught my children to honor you as the best
of men, and to love you as their father's especial
Iriend and benefactor . She whose untimely loss has
filled my bosom with an eternal sorrow had selected
your name for her unborn babe, and it has thus
become doubly sacred to me by its association with
her who is dearest to my soul, and with you who
have served me with the greatest fidelity. We
may never meet again, but while consciousness and
identity remain I shall never cease to remember
yoar kindness in the day of adversity or to pray
that heaven may reward your loyalty and devotion
to me and mine.

I cannot dwell on the great calamity which finally
blighted my life in Baltimore, and compelled me
to seek in other scenes a surcease from the sorrow
which so oppressed and paralyzed me there.

Fourteen years have passed since we stood 'to-
gether at the grave of my darling boy, but the
wound of that sad bereavement has never healed,
and will be felt until my heart has ceased to pul-
sate.

After three years spent in a vain and painful
struggle to command myself sufiiciently for the
proper performance of my professional duties, I
followed your advice and determined to remove to
some other locality, hoping to break the spell of
sorrow by shifting the scene of my life and labors.

394 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XXVII.

SEEKING A NEW FIELD.

My Dear Doctor:

I first sought a professorship in the University
of New York, thinking that a residence in that
city might serve to distract my thoughts and give
a zeal to my existence. With that end in view,
I presented to the dean of the University of New
York letters of recommendation from a number of
leading men both in and out of the profession, two of
which I reproduce because of the eminence of their
authors and of the specially emphatic terms in
which they indorsed me :

Philadelphia, 3Iay 8, 1872.
My Dear Doctor Warren:

It is difficult for me to say anything respecting
one who is so well known throughout the country
as a gentleman, practitioner and a teacher of medi-
cine. Any medical school I am sure ought to be
proud to give you a place in its faculty. As a
teacher of surgery — off-hand, ready and even bril-
liant— there is no one in the country that surpasses
you. As an operator and a general practitioner,
your ability has long been everywhere recognized.
Your success as a popular lecturer has been re-
markably great. As a journalist you have wielded
a ready and graceful pen. Some of 3^our opera-
tions reflect great credit upon your judgment and

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 395

skill. Of your moral character I liave never heard
anything hut what was good and honorahle.

I hope with all my heart you may obtain a posi-
tion in one of the New York schools. Your great
popularity in the Southern States could not fail to
be of service in drawing Southern students. My
only regret is that we have no place to offer you in
Philadelphia.

Wishing you every possible succesSj I am, dear
doctor, very truly your friend,

S. D. Gross,
Professor of Surgery^
Jefferson Medical School.
Professor Edward Warren, Baltimore, Md.

University of Virginia, May 18, 1872.
To THE Faculty of the University Medical Col-
lege OF New York.

Gentlemen : It gives me great pleasure to rec-
ommend to your favorable consideration Dr. Ed-
ward Warren.

I have known Dr. Warren from his boyhood,
and can testify to his excellent character, fine tal-
ents, indomitable perseverance in the pursuit of
knowledge and the discharge of professional duties.

Dr. Warren's attainments are of a high order
in genuine scholarship. He made unusual profi-
ciency in moral philosophy, and graduated also
with distinction in other schools in the University
of Virginia.

Of his professional attainments I am not compe-
tent to judge, but I know that he has been success-
ful when competition was intense, and I learn from
others, competent to judge, that he has every quali-
fication to insure success in the chair of surgery,

396 A doctor's experiences

the place which I learn he seeks in your institu-
tion.

Very respectfully, etc.,

W. H. McGUFFY,

Professor Moral Philosophy University of Va.

Few things have given me mure pleasure than
these kind and complimentary letters, and I shall
ever guard them among my treasures.

Having failed in this effort because no vacancy
existed in the school, and still appreciating the ne-
cessity for a change of surroundings, I sought and
secured a position under the Khedive of Egypt.

After the American war, with a view of avail-
ing himself of the military skill and experience
which it had developed, his highness took meas-
ures to secure the services of a number of officers
from both armies, as he was then filled with the
idea of separating Egvpt from the dominion of
Turkey.

Happening one day to look from my window I
saw Colonel Walter Jenifer — an old friend who
some time before had entered the Egyptian army
■ — walking up Charles street, looking magnificently
in a semi-military costume. Hurrying after him
he gave me a cordial greeting, and returned with
me to my office to talk over his experience in ''the
land of the Pharaohs."

He gave me such a glowing account of the coun-
try, and of the manner in which the American officers
had been treated there, that I became immediately
imbued with the desire to follow his example and
enter the service of the Khedive. I promptly took
measures to obtain from my friends generally let-
ters of recommendation to the American officers
then in authority at Cairo, and forwarded them

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 397

together with a formal application for a position in
the medical stafp of the Egyptian army.

Some weeks afterward I received a letter from
the war office, offering me the position of chief sur-
geon of the general staff of the army, with the
rank and pay of lieutenant-colonel and transporta-
tion to and from Cairo. I was also referred to Gen-
eral Sherman, who had been authorized by the
Khedive to select such officers as were required
smd to arrange for their transportation.

I visited General Sherman at once and was re-
ceived very cordially, as he had not forgotten our
relations during the war. I told him very candidly
that although desirous of going to Egypt I could
not do so unless I was made a full colonel, and
was given permission to practice my profession in
Cairo. He agreed to telegraph to that effect and
to communicate the result so soon as he had re-
ceived an answer.

Some days afterward he sent me a telegram from
the Egyptian authorities accepting my terms, and
-a formal appointment from himself, embracing the
conditions to which I have referred. I thus sud-
denly found myself committed to the service under'
the Khedive ;* and when the reality of a residence
in so distant a land and a radical change in all my
plans of life was actually brought before me,*l must
confess that it seemed a far more serious step than I
had originally conceived of, and one that I greatly
hesitated to take. In midst of my perplexity I
had the curious dream to which I have already re-
ferred, and but for it I should never have had the
courage to make the venture.

Do you remember the dinner which you and
other friends gave me at Barnum's just previous to

See Apx^endix (A),

398 A doctor's experiences

my departure? I have never forgotten it, and its
menu hangs framed to-day in my office, a connect-
ing link between the past and the present, and a
souvenir of a most delightful occasion. How many
times, when surfeited with the cuisine of foreign
lands, have I refreshed my palate by contemplating^
its tempting spread of terrapins, oysters, canvas-
back ducks, etc. Each guest of that deliglitful
evening is associated with the choicest delicacies of
Barnum's, and that alone is sufficient to embalm
him forever in my memory. What a charming
event it proved to me ! For it was a gathering of
my friends, of those who believed in me, and wha
had stood bravely by me in all the vicissitudes of
my life in Baltimore. And the old Maderia which
Mr. Dorsey produced to drink a parting toast to
my "health and happiness" — its bouquet has
lingered in my nostrils and its flavor upon my lips
ever since. But friendship — true and tried — was
the sauce that flavored the courses that night, and
gave them a relish beyond the dream of the chef Sit
Voisin's or Vefour's.

I stopped on the Jersey side so as to take the
Cunarder which then started from that locality,
and while dressing on the morning of my depart-
ure tl^ere was a rap at my door, and in walked
William — the colored boy who had served me so
long and so faithfully in Baltimore.

" What on earth has brought you here, Will-
iam?" was my surprised exclamation.

" Well_, Doctor, you see you are used to me and
to my ways, and I am going along with you," he
answered.

'^ What, going with me to Egypt?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, sir, I am a-gwine to Egypt with you.
You see I told Mrs. Warren I wanted to go and

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 399

she sent me. I am a-gwine to take care of you,"
he replied.

And he went with me, and he is with me still,
the most loyal, devoted and humble of servants,
although he speaks three or four languages, and
has been petted by everybody on this side of the
water.

His father was a freed man, and at one time pos-
sessed a considerable estate, including several ne-
groes. Being naturally over-confiding and rather
thriftless, his brother soon managed to get him
into debt and to obtain possession of his property ;
and when- I knew him he was glad to obtain
work in the college with which I was con-
nected. One nisrht he tried his hand as a resur-
rectionist, with the result of an arrest and an
imprisonment for three months, notwithstanding
our urgent efforts to secure his release. Quite an
amusing incident occurred in this connection which
illustrates the power of avarice over the human
soul, even though it be that of a doctor. The bail
for our captured resurrectionist was fixed at five
hundred dollars, and it became necessary to find
two sureties — both property-owners — each to be-
come responsible for one-half of that sum. Only
two members of the faculty possessed ^'real estate"
in Baltimore, and it was agreed to request them
to sign the bond, and for the rest to subscribe to a
paper securing them from all loss. The most in-
timate friend of one of the property- owners was
delegated to visit him for the purpose of explain-
ing and arranging the matter. He went to the
house of our rich confrere^ and after telling him of
Hughes' arrest, and of the certainty that the poor
fellow would have to remain three months in jail
unless bail could be found, etc., requested him to

400 A doctor's experiences

become one of the sureties on tlie terms already
explained.

" What, become securit}^ for two hundred and
fifty dollars ! " he exclaimed ; ''impossible ! I would
not sign for that sum to take you out of jail."

And yet he w^as worth a square million, and
the party addressed was his dearest friend. Our
ambassador departed precipitately, and poor Hughes
remained in prison for the full term of three months.
Finding him honest and reliable I took one of his
sons, who was then about fifteen years of age. into
m}^ service ; and he has been with me ever since,
embracing a period of some sixteen years. Possess-
ing a kindly disposition, and being naturally fond of
children, he soon became a great favorite with my
family and has remained so up to the present mo-
ment. Ele has proved invaluable to me in connec-
tion with my professional work, having learned to
assist in operations, to dress wounds, to extract
teeth, to give hypodermic injections, and to do a
variety of things which a physician in full prac-
tice requires to have done for him. But it is es-
pecially as a garcon de rece2:)tion that he excels. He
can distinguish "who is who" at a glance ; he
know^s how to commiserate w^ith a patient on his
first visit, and to find improvement in his visage at
each succeeding one ; he understands how much
time a case requires for its consideration, and when
to interrupt a long-winded client ; he can enter-
tain and divert an impatient visitor to perfection ;
he can be the most polite of servants, the tenderest
of nurses, and the sharpest of collectors, as the cir-
cumstances demand ; and, in a word, there does
not live a luan who plays his appointed role in
life with greater tact and judgment than my
faithful office boy, William Hughes. Though a
neo:ro, and bnlv wdth such an education as he has

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 401

*^ picked up " in my house, he has the manners and
the appearance of a gentleman — and he is one, if
fidelity to duty, incorruptible honesty, scrupulous
neatness of person and the kindest of hearts entitle
a man to be so regarded. His devotion to me,
regard for my feelings, respect for my opinions,
interest in my business, and desire to promote my
€omfort and happiness are something phenomenal ;
€ind, I can say with truth, that he has been the
most patient, loyal and consistent friend that I
have had in life.

On two occasions he concluded to leave my ser-
vice, but s-ignally failed in each attempt. In one
instance, his health becoming bad, he concluded to
try the efficacy of a change of air, and took the posi-
tion of chief steward on a river steamer. He had
only made a few trips, however, when he chanced
to find a terrapin crawling on the shore, and cap-
turing it, he brought it in triumph to Baltimore,
and hurried to my house to present it to my little
boy — never giving a thought to his steamer again.

Again, having fallen desperately in love, he fol-
lowed the object of his affections to New York,
where he took service as a waiter in a boarding-
house. A short time after his departure I had oc-
casion to write to him in order to ascertain where
he had left a set of harness for repair, and a day
or two afterward I was surprised when I opened
my eyes in the morning to see William moving
stealthily about the room, engaged in arranging
my clothes as usual. '^Halloa, William," I cried
out ; " what are you doing in Baltimore?" "Oh,
sir ! " he answ^ered, " I come on to find them har-
ness you wrote about," and he went on with his
w^ork as if nothing had occurred and New York
had no existence.

I learned subsequently that when the servants
26

402 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

questioned him in regard to his return, he said :
'' Well, folks. New York is the nicest sort of a
place, and the people were mighty friendly to me.
hut I felt so lonesome without the doctor and the
children that I could not stand it and I just packed
up and come home again."

He is one of the few ^' Democratic " darkeys that
I have ever met with — not through any influence
that I have exerted upon him, but, apparently, be-
cause the war rather diminished the dignity of
his family by so largely augmenting the number of
freedmen.

A grand functionary of the United States once
came up to him, and patting him on the shoulder,
said: " Ah, William, we Republicans are your
friends, and you ought to love us dearly. We set
you all free." ''Not at all, sir," said he ; "you
Republicans did nothing for me, you only set my
darkeys free" — a remark which surprised and
silenced the politician, as you can well imagine.

He is naturally of a peaceable disposition, but
he can brook no insult to me, and he has had
several difficulties on that account.

On one occasion the guard on duty at the prin-
cipal gate of the Cairo Citadel'*' failed to salute me
as we drove through it en route to my office. In a
moment William called to the syce — the avant
courier, who, in Eastern lands, runs before the car-
riage of every personage to clear the way, and an-
nounce his master's title, etc. — ordered him to
stand before the horses, and proceeded to give the
offending soldier, armed as he was, a sound thrash-
ing with his whip. In the midst of the melee
Ratib Pasha, the commander-in-chief, rode up,
and threatened William with his sword, at the

*See Appendix (B).

m THREE CONTINENTS. 405

same time abusing him most savagely. To my
horror, William turned upon him, and asserting
his American citizenship^ declared that he should
he treated to a similar punishment if he dared
again to open his lips. The Pasha gazed at him
for a moment with speechless amazement, and then,
true to the instincts of his pusillanimous nature,
put spurs to his horse, and dashed off as if the
devil was after him. The scene was ludicrous
beyond expression, but it was only after several
anxious nights that I slept soundly again, because
of the constant expectation of an order sending me
to Central Africa or dismissing me from the ser-
vice, as I well knew the vindictive character of
the man with whom I had to deal. For some in-
comprehensible reason the order did not arrive, but
in place of it there came, a few days afterward, an
invitation to a feast, which the generalissimo had
given in honor of his marriage. Ratib is the in-
dividual who subsequently figured so ingloriously
in the Abyssinian campaign, causing by his ob-
stinacy and cowardice — according to General Lor-
ing — the destruction of the greater part of the
Egyptian army, and having been found in the
midst of the attack upon the fort, in which the
fugitives from the ill-fated field had taken refuge,
concealed beneath a pile of Arab bread, so para-
lyzed by fear and disfigured with dust as scarcely
to be recognizable.

From William's dark complexion, and the at-
tention which he paid to his dress, the natives for
a long time took him to be a eunuch, and treated
him with all the deference which they habitually
accord to those dilapidated but still puissant
specimens of humanity.

By his own imprudence, however, he lost his
prestige in that regard, and came near losing his
life as well.

404 A doctor's experiences

Prompted by his inherent love of displa}' and a
'desire to outshine the English coachman kept by
:his highness for grand ceremonies, he arrayed
liim^f on one occasion in full livery, including a
iwb^ — which, with its variegated cockade and its
glossy eheen^ was to his mind the j^erfection of ele-
;gance — and then drove up the Mouski, the princi-
ipal street of the native quarter. Instead of receiv-
ing the ovation which he expected^ he soon found
himself surrounded by a crowd of infuriated Mus-
sulmans who, with cries of "'down with the trait-
or," "death to the renegade," '^crucify the apos-
tate," struck at him with clubs and swords, pelted
bim with everything they could lay their hands
3ipon, and attempted to drag him from his seat in
order to inflict summary punishment upon him for
ihaving abandoned his religion and proclaimed his
a^ecantation by wearing a hat in the public streets.
The timely arrival of a squad of foreign policemen
alone saved his life, and even then he had diffi-
culty in escaping from the fanatical rabble and in
returning to my house.

Though frightened nearly out of his wits, his
anind had been unable to conceive a motive for the
(hostile demonstration, and he came rushing into
my office, still arrayed in his liveried splendor, to
give me a history of his adventure, and to ask the
meaning of the attack upon him.

" My God, Doctor, they tried to kill me! They
kept pointing at my nice new hat and crying,
■^ nooser ani' and' 'ehiiu el kelp,' all the time.
Oan't an American wear a hat in this country as
well as a Britisher? 'Fore Grod, they never saw a
finer one. What does it all mean^ anyhow?"

'^ Why, William, it is as plain as daylight.

"^i^ee Apj)endix (C).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 405

From the color of your skin they have always^
taken you for a Mohammedanj and a eunuch at
that, and seeing that you had abandoned your
tarbouche and put on a hat, they thought you had
changed your religion and become a Christian."

"Is that it? What a set of cussed fools ! Ketch
me wearing a hat again while I am in Egypt ; hut
that is a nice hat, Doctor."

''I'll make that all right, old fellow. You^
bought it on my account and I will pay for it; but
the thing that grieves me most is that they will
never take you for a eunuch again, and you will not
be regarded as so much of a great man hereafter."

For many a day afterward, as we drove over the
scene of the conflict, William's countenance wore:
an uneasy expression, and I observed many a look
of hatred leveled after us, but no further violence-
was attempted, and save in the loss of his prestige
my faithful servant suffered no detriment.

In explanation of the indignation excited by
William's unfortunate hat, I must say that the-
tarbouche or the turban is de rigueur with all true-
followers of the Prophet, while every other cover-
ing for the head is regarded as a token of unbelief
or of apostasy. Hence it was that every foreign
officer in the Khedive's service was required to-
wear a fez or tarbouche, in order to avoid remark
and discussion on the part of the natives.

It is a singular circumstance that a covering for
the head which affords no protection to the eyes,.
either against the rays of the sun or the glare and
dust of the desert, should be adopted by a country
in which ophthalmia is the prevailing disease.

During the summer months that affection is al-
most universal among children under ten years of
age, and the proportion of blind or partially blind
men is about one in twenty of the population.

406 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

Though produced originally by the combined ef-
fects of the sun's rays, dust and vicissitudes of
temperature, ophthalmia is a contagious disease —
i. e., is reproducible by actual contact — and most'
frequently by the agency of the flies which swarm
in that country. Believing them to have been
sent by Allah, (?) the natives respect them accord-
ingly, and consider it sinful to brush them away or
in any manner to interfere with them.

It is a common thing to see the faces of the cliil-
dren covered with them — blackened and disfigured
by their presence — and while Egyptian mothers show
all the instincts of maternity in other regards, noth-
inof can induce them to raise their hands ao;ainst
these insects. Flies thus become agents for the
transportation of the virus of ophthalmia and the
principal instruments of its propagation.

As a matter of pure humanity I opened a dis-
pensary for the treatment of ophthalmia among the
soldiers and their families, and though hundreds
presented themselves daily, I could accomplish but
little toward their relief, for the reason that my in-
junctions in this regard were invariablj" disregarded.
They were willing to take any amount -of medicine,
and to submit to whatever I proposed in the way
of applications or of oj^erations, but they perferred
to suffer pain or to incur the risk of blindness rather
than insult the Lord by interfering with His agents
and ministers — the flies which infest the country.

Whether I should have succeeded ultimately in
eradicating this superstitious prejudice, I can not
say, for after an experience of two weeks in the
Dowhadish, and in spite of every possible precau-
tion to guard against contagion, I was attacked
with ophthalmia, and I am to-day a sufferer from its
consequences. William assisted me in this work,
and though he laughed incredulously when enjoined

J

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 407

to caution in dealing with my patients, lie too fella
victim a short time afterward. The negro has no
fortitude of character, and he hecomes immediately
demoralized when called upon to suffer either
physically or mentally. Having just passed
through the same ordeal, I appreciated fully his
meaning when he spoke of the 'Hiot iron which was
boring through his eye and burning his brain,"
and yet there was a ludicrousness about his pro-
ceedings which elicited a smile as I sympathized
with his sufferings and sought to minister to their
relief.

Though the thermometer was above 100°, he
wrapped a woolen comforter about his head, en-
veloped his body with blankets, and alternately
shrieked, sang camp-meeting hymns, prayed de-
voutly, and called for his ''mammy" by day and
night for nearly two entire weeks. Indeed, he
aroused the whole neighborhood, and frightened
the contiguous Arabs and Levantines almost out of
their lives, while my own family was kept in a
■state of mortal terror during the entire period of his
illness. I was compelled to give him morphia hy-
podermically and in large quantities to render life
tolerable to him, and to keep him from expiring
from pain and fright.

On several occasions during his residence in
Paris he has experienced the same agony from a
return of the disease and has gone through similar
performances — though fortunately not on so gigan-
tic a scale — to the wonder of my neighbors and the
consternation of my household.

Is it not .a strange circumstance that a man of
good sense, of an abundance of physical courage,
and of considerable pride of character should be-
come thus demoralized and irresponsible under the
influence of pain, and at the bare possibility of

4*08 ■. A doctor's experiences

death ? And yet lie is but the type of his race in
this regard — he is a negro au fond notwithstand-
ing his many admirable qualities, his long associa-
tion with white men, and his varied experiences of
the world. I mention this in no disparagement of
my good friend and faithful servant, but simply as
a practical demonstration of the difficulty of eradi-
cating the peculiarities by which the different races
are distinguished from one another.

I have been struck very forcibly with the facility
with which William has picked up the languages-
of the various countries in wdiich he has lived. He
is a man of but limited education, and yet he had
not lived three months in Cairo before he had ac-
quired enough of the Arab tongue — a most difficult
one to learn by any process — to understand what
was said to him, and to make his wants known ;
and he finally mastered it sufficiently to be taken
for a native by the people of the country. We all
devoted ourselves to the study of Arabic, but with
the exception of my eldest daughter, who speaks it
with great fluency, we never got to the point of
framing sentences or of maintaining a connected
conversation ; while this comparatively uneducated
man, trusting to his ear alone, soon learned to
speak it as glibly as if he had been born and raised
in the country. Of course, my younger children
learned it from their nurses, and it was to them
virtually a mother tongue.

With the exception of Colonel Chaille Long, the
distinguished Central African explorer, I do not
know an American officer who learned to speak
Arabic with any approach to fluency. General
Loring, the scholar of the commission, studied it
with great zeal and diligence, but he was compelled
to rely upon an interpreter to the last, although he

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 409

made himself a master of its grammar and diction-
ary.

I have not seen Colonel Mason for several years,
but, as he has lived for a long time where Arabic
is exclusively spoken, and is a man of superior
mind and education, I suppose that he speaks it
like a native.

William also acquired French readily, and,
though for a long time his grammar was rather
mixed, and his pronunciation decidedly Ethiopian,
he has become tout a fait Francaise, and gets along
as well as any man in the colony. Certainly there
is not a shrug or a grimace with which he is un-
familiar, and he amply makes up by his proficiency
in this respect for any deficiency in words and
idioms.

The longer a man resides in a country the less pro-
ficient does he really find himself in its language, or,
in other words, the more he knows the more does he
find thatthereistoknow. Itisonlythe ''newcomer"
with the barest smattering of French, who will
tell you that he " speaks like a Frenchman," be-
lieving that the ability to parade a few set phrases
and to make his wants known comprises a thor-
ough knowledge of the language.

The French themselves are mainly responsible
for this egotistical delusion . "il/ai^, 3Ionsieur, vous
parlez bien, parfaitement Men,'' is the staple compli-
ment with which a ''fresh arrival" is greeted on
all sides from the first moment that he sets foot in
the country. The bait is swallowed eagerly, as a
general rule, as many a hotel director^ shop-keeper
and professional quack finds by counting his gains
when "the innocent" has departed — to mourn after-
ward over the depleted pockets which his profi-
ciency as a linguist has cost him.

I was greatly amused recently by a conversation

410 A doctor's experiences

between a friend of mine and a sliop-keeper of the
Rue de la Paix. Notwithstanding that he has
lived in the country for manj^ years and prides
himself on the knowledge of the language, his
French is simply an incomprehensible jargon. Hav-
ing been absent from Paris for some time he saun-
tered into a shop on his return and renewed his
acquaintance with its proprietor over a pair of
gloves that he desired to purchase. After address-
ing several remarks to the merchant in what he
conceived to be French, he essayed to extract a
compliment from him in regard to the fluency with
which he spoke the language. The Frenchman
pretended not to see the point. He praised his
gloves ; he talked about the weather ; he inquired
after my friend's health ; he told a piquant little
anecdote cqjroj^os to nothing, but he avoided the
expected compliment altogether. '' 3Iais, 3Iushur,
vou non coiivprond. Je hai pari de mon Francaise.
Je pari perfet , maintnoiv^ n est pas f"

^'Oui, Monsieur, vous parlez — vous parlez — vous
parlez — mieux" — the ''Men' which he essayed to
utter, and my friend so confidently expected to
hear, being too much for his conscience, seared and
hardened as it was by twenty years of dealing with
foreigners in the Hue de la Paix. My friend's in-
dignation knew no bounds, for he saw the French-
man's difficulty, and, turning to me^ he said :
^' This man is a natural-born fool. He does not
appreciate his own language when it is properly
spoken. I shall trade at some other shop here-
after," and he left the place in hopeless disgust.

I am sure the Frenchman will never hesitate be-
tween mieux and Men again, for, realizing that his
conscientiousness has cost him a client, he will be
as polite as the rest of his countrymen for the future,
you may depend upon it.

i

m THREE CONTINENTS. 411

LETTER XXVIII.

UNDER THE KHEDIVE.

My Dear Doctor :

I sailed from New York on the 2d day of April,
1873. on the steamer '' Abyssinia," of the Cunard
line, in company with General E. E. Colston, who
had also accepted a position in the Egyptian Army,
and whose subsequent services were well appreciated
and rewarded by the Khedive.

Our departure was not an auspicious one, as the
papers of that morning contained the first intelli-
gence of the loss of the steamer ^' Atlantic ;" and
the last sound that we heard from the shore was
the cry of the news-boys announcing ^' A terrible
shipwreck ! " '' The loss of several hundred lives,"
etc.

As in nearly every instance of disaster at sea, the
cause can be traced to criminal negligence, the best
time for sailing is just after such a calamity, as the
officers are thus stimulated to unusual care in the
navigation of the ship and in everything relating
to their duties.

It is far from agreeable, nevertheless, to have
one's ears saluted, at the last moment, by the tid-
ings of so dreadful an accident, and for several
days its effect could be seen in the pallid counte-
nances and serious mien of all on board.

As the weather was fine, the ship staunch, and
the officers unusually attentive to their duties, the
gloom among the passengers gradually disappeared.

412 A doctor's experiences

and we had a remarkably cheerful and pleasant
passage.

Having failed to make the tide at the bar of the
Mersey, we were transported thence to Liverpool in
a small tug, and as a result, I contracted a severe
cohl, which confined me to bed for several days
after my arrival at the Northwestern Hotel.

Few things in life are more disagreeable than
to be sick in a hotel. Such establishments are
made for well people — for those who are in a con-
dition to spend money freely and to give the mini-
mum of trouble.

Sickness is resented as a gratuitous insult, and
an invalid usually receives about as much con-
sideration as he might expect in the hut of a Hot-
tentot. But for William's assiduous attentions I
should have fared badly indeed, for circumlocution
was the order of the day, and everything that I
required and asked for was '' against the rules of
the house."

However, under the judicious use of remedies, the
threatening pneumonia was transformed into a
mild bronchitis, and I was soon able to bid adieu
to the Northwestern, and to journey on to London.

After William had watched at my bedside for a
day or two, I insisted that he should go out and
see the city. He was absent for several hours, and
returned with his mind filled with the astounding
fact that ^' everybody spoke American as well as he
did," and the circumstance that he had encountered
a band of negro minstrels, who had offered him a
large salary to join them and to go " starring " —
as he expressed it — all over Europe. More than
half of the company, it seemed, were white men,
and they desired the addition of more genuine
African blood in order to make their enterprise a
success. He refuted their proposition at once, but

m THREE CONTINENTS. 413

tliey became so importuDate that he was really fear-
ful lest they might waylay and kidnap him, nolens
nolens. I quieted his fears as best I could, but
warned him at the same time "to keep his eyes
open," for I felt some apprehension on the subject
myself.

William did not venture in the streets again, but
he several times pointed out his importunate
friends, as they hung about the hotel hoping to
have another talk with him. As he is a good-look-
ing darkey, possesses a fine voice, and has a jle-
cidedly musical turn, he would have proved an
invaluable addition to their troupe — would have
literally coined money for them I learned after-
ward that they visited all the European capitals,
producing a sensation everywhere, and returning
home with heavier pockets than they had started
out with.

In London I had the pleasure of meeting that
splendid gentleman and greg^t surgeon, Sir James
Paget, to whom I carried letters of introduction
from Professors Gross and Pancoast, of Philadel-
phia. He invited me to his house, introduced
me to his family, and gave me a letter to Mr.
Fowler, the English engineer, then employed by
the Khedive in perfecting the great works of in-
ternal improvement to which he had devoted him-
self. Sir James has risen by the force of his genius
and character to the most commanding professional
position in England ; and he is, at the same time,
the very type of a finished gentleman.

Since my residence in Paris I have renewed my
acquaintance with him, and I am proud to be able
to number him among the truest friends I have made
upon this side of the jitlantic. His election to the
presidency of the International Congress of 1881 —
to which I had the honor of being a delegate — is

414 A doctor's experiences

an evidence of the estimation in which he is^ held
by the medical profession of the world, and the
able and eloquent address which he delivered on
that occasion fully justified the wisdom of his
selection for so distinguished a position.

In manner and appearance he reminds me ot"
the late Wm. B. Kogers, the distinguished Ameri-
can scientist, for they were cast in the same heroic
mold, and inherited equally the attributes of genius.

I had always looked forward with pleasure to a
second visit to Paris, but I found everything about
it so changed by the hand of vandalism that the
impression produced upon my mind was only a
painful one. I had known the city in its days of
imperial splendor — when it was incomparably gay,
and grand, and glorious, and I found it draped in
mourning, torn b}^ internal dissensions, and marred
by unsightly ruins. Between the Paris of '73 and
that of '55 there was as great a difference as between
a funeral dirge and a wedding march — a dilapi-
dated brick and a diamond of the first water.
Everything seemed radically and hopelessly
changed, and I left it with a feeling of relief — a
veritable surcease from regret and disappointment.

As a matter of economy, we traveled from Paris
to Brindisi as second-class passengers, which neces-
sitated a halt at every station, as well as innu-
merable changes of trains. As we spoke scarcely
a word of Italian, and no one seemed to understand
either English or French, it has always been a
mystery how we escaped starvation and reached our
destination. Bread and wine were the only arti-
cles in the way of sustenance that our knowledge
of Italian permitted us to ask for, and we only
avoided being carried in wrong directions by cry-
ing out, -'Brindisi! Brindisi! Brindisi!" at the
top of our voices, whenever the train came to a

I

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 415

halt. William's black skin collected a crowd at
every station, and our frantic efforts to keep in the
direct route created a sensation from the Alps to
the Adriatic. The only wonder is that we
were not arrested as lunatics, for I am sure we
were taken for such at every station throughout
the entire route.

After a pleasant voyage of four days over a wave-
less sea and beneath cloudless skies, we entered the
harbor of Alexandria,* where we found General
and Colonel Reynolds — old Confederates and dear
friends — waiting to welcome us, and bearing a
message from General Loring ''to come directly to
Gabara."

After passing through the custom-house we took
a carriage, and drove, first through the city, and
tliPM about a mile into the country, to the General's
residence.

He gave us a cordial welcome, and bade us make
ourselves at home in Gabara. This palace had been
one of the favorite summer homes of Said Pasha^f
the former Khedive of Egypt, and I can well under-
stand his partiality for it. It is built in the East-
ern style, only one story in height, with a rectangu-
lar central building, and a wing on either side —
one for the selamlik and the other for the hareem.
Its interior is gorgeous with mirrors, marble floors,
panels of porphyry, mosaics, divans, carpets, and
all that can be conceived of oriental luxury ; while a
large veranda occupies its entire front, and a spa-
cious garden lies behind it, filled with murmuring
fountains, luscious fruit and fragrant flowers.

The approach to it is through a spacious avenue
skirted with mimosas, which unite in a canopy
above, and embower it in perpetual shade ; and

See Appendix (D). fSee Appendix (E).

416 A DOCTORS EXPERIENCES

spreading around it in ever}^ direction are large
fields devoted to the cultivation of the date, the
orange, the fig, and the almond. It is impossible
to conceive of a lovelier spot, and one is reminded
at every turn of the stories of the Arabian Nights,
and feels as if he v^^ere really in fairy land.

This palace had been assigned to G-eneral Loring
as his quarters when he was placed in command of
Alexandria, and he lived there in princely elegance,
with the two Reynolds — his aides-de-camp — and
their families.

We received a cordial welcome, but found it difii-
cult to sleep on accoant of the excitement incident
to our arrival, and the strange emotions inspired
by the novelty of the situation and the magnifi-
cence of the objects around us.

We took the train at eight o'clock on the succeed-
ing morning, and reached Cairo* in six hours and
a half, the journey having proved an exceedingly
interesting one, because of the strange sights and
interesting associations which presented themselves
on every side.

We reached Cairo in the midst of what is known
as a ^^ hhampseen/' a wind which blows from the
south, and brings with it the dust and the heat
of the desert. There is no spring-time in Egypt,
but, from the 1st of April until about the 20th of
May, a period of fifty days, this wind prevails,
giving one a foretaste of the infernal. Khamjose is
the Arabic word for fifty, and the wind which blows
from the desert during this period of fifty days is
called the ^^khampseen." After this most disa-
greeable season the direction of the wind changes,
coming from the north, especially after sunset, and
renderins: the niorhts cool and refreshinoj.

*See Appendix (F).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 417

During these storms the natives retire to their
liouses and carefully close their doors and win-
dows, so as to keep out the dust and heat, and,
when compelled to breast them, they cover their
heads and faces with blankets, just as the inhabi-
tants of colder regions do to protect themselves
against the blasts of Boreas.

As I before informed you, a storm of this kind
prevailed Avhen we reached Cairo. The air was
loaded with dense clouds of dust ; a wind was
blowing from the desert which felt like the breath
of a furnace ; and, from the debilitating influences
•of an atmosphere alike deficient in oxygen, filled
with impalpable particles of sand, and heated above
the blood-range, a feeling of nervous prostration
"was produced which seemed scarcely supportable.
I felt as if I had been translated to tlie lower re-
gions, and bitterly regretted ever having thought
of Egypt.

Seeking, however, the shelter of the New Hotel,
I retired to my room, threw off my clothes, called
for a plentiful supply of artificial ice and palm-leaf
fans, and made myself as comfortable as circum-
stances would allow until the storm had spent itself.

This wind is not the '■'' simoon,'' as some sup-
pose. Tlie ^'khamj^seen" usually prevails for about
three days, brings with it a temperature of 95°,
and is laden with the impalpable dust of the des-
ert, while the "simoon" usually blows for about
twenty minutes only, raises the thermometer to
100°, and is attended by clouds composed princi-
pally of sand.

The climate of Egypt during the greater part of
the year is remarkably salubrious and healthy.
The general height of the thermometer in the win-
ter is from 50° to 60° — in the afternoons — in the
^hade. I never saw but one rain at Cairo, and,
27

418 A doctor's experiexces

though it was only a passing shower, the natives
regarded it as a deluge. Consumption is a com-
mon disease among the blacks from the interior
of Africa, the climate being so much colder than
that in which they have been reared.

Everything about Egypt is so peculiar that a
stranger feels on his first arrival as if he had lost
his identity, and had been wafted to another sphere.
Its ideas and customs are generally directly antip-
odal of those of other lands in all regards.

The people of Egypt are ultra religious,* as they
understand the matter. They have absolute faith
alike in the existence of a God, and in His direct
intervention in the affairs of life. They do every-
thing, in fact, in the name of Allah, and follow
with blind obedience the teachings of Mohanaet as^
recorded in the Koran.

Although the heaven of the Koran is peopled
with Houris — seventy-two of whom minister to
each one of the elect, women are virtually ex-
cluded from the religion of el golam. Instead,
therefore, of spending their lives in prayer and
pilgrimage^ they occupy themselves with paying^
visits, painting their persons, drinking coffee, eat-
ing sweetmeats, rehearsing the tales of the Ara-
bian Nights, talking scandal, and planning in-
trigues of every possible description.

In some rare instances they affect religious
fervor, and devote themselves to a great parade of
self-sacrifice, prayer-making and almsgiving, but
always with the conviction that their chances of
the "better land" are doubtful at best, and that
their only hope is in the direct intervention of the
Prophet.

Of course, I refer to the x4rabs proper, for the
Copts, t who compose a considerable portion of the-

*See Appendix (G). fSee Appendix (H).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 41^'

population, are ChristianSj although in other re-
spects no differences are discoverable between
them and their neighbors. It is a remarkable
circumstance that these two classes, Arabs and
Copts, should have lived so long together, with the
same laws and similar habitudes, without having
amalgamated, and yet they remain as distinctly
separated as the Jews and the Christians of other
lands.

A missionary establishment has existed in Cairo>
for a number of years, under the direction of men
of ability and great religious zeal, and yet I have
never heard of the conversion of but one Moham-
medan to the Christian faith, and that was effected
by other influence than theirs. The ministrations
of the missionaries have, however, prospered
among the Copts, for, though professedly believers
in the divinity of Christ, their religion had be-
come only another name for idolatry and super-
stition, and they greatly needed the teaching and
the example of such men as Drs. Lansing and
Watson.

The convert to whom I refer is a young man by
the name of Achmed Fahmy, who for a long time
was attached to me as an official interpreter. He
soon established friendly relations with my house-
hold, and as he was a devout Mussulman, he set
himself diligently to work to convert William. The
latter was a staunch Methodist at the time, and
the arguments between the two were as intermin-
able as they were animated and amusing. One
day I overheard William say to him : ^'Now^
Achmed, I want to ask you a question, and you
must answer it truly. What do you think will
become of the Doctor when he is dead and gone?'^

" Why, it is as plain as daylight. He is an un-
believer, and the Prophet says, ' All who refuse

420 A doctor's experiences .

to believe in me, and to follow me, shall be pun-
ished eternally.' I am sorry for the Doctor, for he
has been like a father to me, but the devil will
■surely get him. That's why I am praying for
him all the time," was his answer.

" Well, just see here, Achmed," exclaimed Will-
iam, ^' if you are such a tarnation fool as to believe
such devilish doctrines as those, I am done with you.
I've got no faith in you, and your blasted religion,
neither." But they continued friends, neverthe-
less, and went on with their arguments uj) to the
day of my departure. My wife, who was also very
fond of the young fellow, occasionally put in a
word, and loaned him some books to read, in-
cluding a copy of the New Testament. But he
gave no sign of yielding, and we left Egypt be-
lieving that our labor had been lost, and that he
would die, as he had lived, a devoted follower of
the Prophet.

Some five or six years afterward one of my
friends was about to visit Egypt, and I gave him a
note to Achmed, knowing him to be an honest
fellow and an excellent dragoman, and you can
judge of my astonishment when I received in reply
the subjoined letter :

Cairo, Uli March, 1878.
Dr. Warren-Bey.

My Dear Sir : After presenting you my best
wishes and compdiments, I wish to tell you about
a very wonderful and glorious thing. You know
that I was a very strict Mohammedan. One day,
as I thought proper and very necessary to search
for the true religion, I found that Christianity is
the true one, therefore, I embraced it six months
ago. Indeed, I suffered many trials and persecu-
tions for the true religion of God. Had I not

' IN THREE CONTINENTS. 421

taken Dr. Lansing's house as my refuge^ I should
have been put to death, according to the Moham-
medan barbarous law. Now I am as a prisoner in
Dr. Lansing's, unable to go out at all, because my
relations and the Mohammedans are so excited and
watching over me all the time ; therefore, I was
unable to go out with General L.

I wish you to pray for me that I may be strong
enough to bear such trials for the sake of my Lord
and Saviour.

Please give my love to Mrs. and Misses Warren.
Your most sincere

ACHMED FaHMY.

I never heard of him afterward, and can only
hope that he remained true to the faith which had
thus germinated in his heart from the seeds that,
we were instrumental in sowing there.

William took the conversion all to himself, and
rejoiced over it exceedingly, telling me, in con-
fidence, that wath a little more "book larning
and practice" he would have made ''just about as
good a preacher as any of them." Most white
men believe that they are natural-born actors y
while every darkey regards himself as a preacher
in disguise.

I can't refrain from telling you of an instance
in which Achmed translated some directions of
mine to a patient, vei^hatim et literatim, and with
a result that was far more laughable than scientific,
as you will see.

Having been- called to an Armenian with a large
nicer on his head, I directed him, through Achmed,
to shave the hair from its margins, and to keep it
covered with Jloicr until the next day, when I would
call and cauterize it. On making my second visit,
I found the patient seated in state, surrounded by

422 A doctor's experiences

liis astonished neighbors, with the hair shaven
from his entire scalp, and a crown of roses encir-
cling his head — all the result of the absolutely lit-
eral manner in Avhich my instructions had been
construed by my faithful dragoman.

The Egyptians are an amiable and docile race,
very much resembling in disposition and character
the American negroes. I had many evidences of
their kindliness, but not one which impressed me
more deeply than the devotion which my baby's
nurse manifested when the dear little fellow was
.stricken with the small-pox. I was suffering at
the time with ophthalmia, and having so little
vision remaining that I could scarcely discern
objects around me, my physician kept me confined
in a darkened room, with my eyes covered with
warm compresses. I was informed that the child
was covered with a ^'curious eruption" and had
fever^ but being told by the oculist that it was a
•case of simple varicella, I gave no serious thought
to the matter. After a day or two my wife said to
me, "^^I wish you could examine the baby, for
he is evidently very ill, and the eruption gets worse
call the time." '' I will see him at all hazards," I
said, being greatly alarmed and apprehending se-
rious trouble. Washing my eyes thoroughly with
warm water, and having a lamp held behind me, I
anade an examination of the child, and found to
my consternation that he was suffering with con-
fluent small-pox. He was a beautiful boy, and I
had permitted myself to believe that lie had been
rsent in mercy to replace my first-born son, but I
realized at a glance that he was doomed, and that
our still bleeding bosoms were to be lacerated anew.
It was a hard task to tell his mother of his condi-
tion, for she. too, had regarded him as a ^^ child

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 423

of consolation," and had lavished upon him all
the idolatry of which her loving nature was capable.

Sorrow reigned in my house that day and for
many days afterward. The disease marched with
its wonted rapidity and violence, and, with the de-
%^elopment of the secondary fever, another soul
passed through "• the pearly gates," and two hearts
were left stricken and desolate.

As soon as I discovered the real nature of the
■disease, I informed his Arab nurse of his condition
and of her danger, and told her that I could not be
so cruel as to ask her to remain with him under the
circumstances.

Poor Amoonah was broken-hearted, not for her-
self, but for him, and, declaring that she was '^will-
ing to'die for the tuallad/' the Arab term for little
boy, she held him in her arms until he breathed his
last, crying over him as if her heart would break,
and uttering that peculiar wail* with which an
Eastern mother mourns the lossof her own offspring.
Although she and the other members of the family
"were not vaccinated until several days after the ap-
pearance of the eruption, no other case occurred,
and we were left alone with our sorrow in that land
of strangers. Surely, no severer test of courage
and devotion could have been applied, and the con-
duct of that lowly Arab woman was simply sublime,
for she appreciated the risk; she was free to go, and
we were Christians and aliens.

The excitement and grief through which 1 was
thus compelled to pass increased the inflammation
of my eyes, and for more than six weeks I lay in a
darkened chamber, feeling as if a hot iron was be-
ing thrust through the orbit into the brain, and
oppressed by the apprehension of permanent blind-

See Appendix (I).

424 A doctor's experiexces

ness. Those were dark days, indeed, and the re-
membrance of.tliem still shadows my memory like
the souvenirs of some terrible nightmare.

But for the fidelity of Dr. Abatte — an Italian
physician connected with the Palace — and the un-
tiring ministrations of my wife and daughter, I
should have lost my vision and perhaps my life.
Of this truly good man I shall have more to say
anon, for he proved himself a true friend in a great
emergency, and I can never live long enough to
repyy his kindness.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 425

LETTER XXIX.

IN EGYPT.

My Dear Doctor :

The word liareeni^ means a man's family, and the
place of its abode, though in Eastern lands the term
covers much ground and includes some very pecu-
liar ideas. Every Mohammedan is entitled to four
wives, each taking rank according to the date of her
marriage, beginning with the youngest, and all be-
ing virtually the slaves of their husband. In many
instances wives are really slaves, having been
originally purchased and never having been en-
franchised. In this way they may become the
property of their own children by inheritance, and
they have been sold as such both publicly and pri-
vately in Cairo. Such occurrences are, however,
rare in Egypt, for filial affection predominates there
over mercenary considerations, as a general rule.

The Koran teaches reverence for parents in em-
phatic terms, and promises special rewards to those
who manifest love and kindliness toward the mothers
who bore them.

Ismail Pasha set a noble example in this respect,
as he made it the mode to display great regard and
veneration for the mothers of Egypt.

He surrounded his own mother with the insignia
of royalty, treating her as if she was his superior in

*See Appendix (J), and note that I spell the word pur-
posely with a double e to make it conform with its pronun-
ciation.

426 A doctor's experiences

rank, and exacting from his subjects an equal
measure of resj^ect and consideration for her.

On all state occasions it was as much a matter of
etiquette to call on her as on him. She did not re-
ceive in person, but by proxy, her representative
being an old eunuch, who, though of ebony hue, was
a man of fine appearance, and of the most courtly
manners. I have repeatedly called with the Khedi-
val Court to do homage to the '^ Queen-Mother,''
as she was designated, and was always received by
her eunuch, who did the honors of his mistress's
grand establishment with an ease and elegance
which would have done credit to the most polished
courtier in Europe. The Egyptian officers made it
a point to hneel and kiss hisJiaiid, while the Ameri-
cans limited their obeisance to shaking hands with
him, wishing him long life and prosperity, and
drinking a cup of his delicious coffee. As the chief
eunuch of the mother of the Khedive he possessed
great power, and was one of the most courted and
flattered personages in Egypt,

A Mohammedan has no trouble in getting rid of
a wife. He is not called upon to invoke the ma-
chinery of a court of law, but the words : '^ I divorce
you," severs the bond at once and it may be for
ever. The wife has the right to demand then a
certain sum of money, her original dowry, and all
of her children within certain years, but she 77mst
find an asylum under some other roof than his at
the earliest moment possible.

A regularly-divorced woman cannot re-marry
her original husband until she has married an-
other, and has been divorced by him, as I dis-
covered by a case wl^iich came under my personal
observation.

We had a regular American reception on the
first day of January, 1874, and among the callers

1

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 42T

was a captain of the staff, who became gloriously
drunk on champagne, which he excused himself
for drinking by laying the flattering unction to his
soul that " it had been invented since the days of
the Prophet and was not, therefore, included in his
injunction against the use of wines."

Returning to his own house at a late hour, and
finding his dinner cold, he flew into a violent rage
with his wife, and, carried away by his drunken
frenzy, he pronounced those words of doom and
separation^ ''I divorce you," three distinct times,
without really knowing what he was doing.

Unfortunately there was a witness present, so
that when he awoke on the succeeding morning he
found to his consternation that he was minus a wife
and child, for the woman had left the house to
seek the protection of her father's roof. The poor
fellow was utterly heart-broken, for he loved his
wife and idolized his baby, a little girl about two
years of age.

He immediately sought me in his sorrow, and,
ignorant of the law on the subject, I advised him
to apologize and remarry her. "But where shall
1 find the man?" he exclaimed, crying like a child.

"Find the man! What man?" I answered.

"Find a man to marry and then divorce her
for me," he said, and then explained the require-
ments of the Mussulman law when the fatal words
have been thrice pronounced, as in this instance.

I could do nothing for him under the circum-
stances, and I saw him for several wrecks after-
ward moping about the Citadel, the picture of
wretchedness and despondency. After awhile he
came again with the announcement that the matter
had been arranged to his satisfaction, that he had
found a friend, who, for a consideration, had

428 A doctor's experiexces

agreed to marry and divorce his wife, according to
the requirements of the Koran.

Some days afterward he sent a messenger to my
house, imploring me to visit him at the earliest
possible moment, " as he was very ill and required
professional services." I found him in bed, with a
nervous fever, utterl\^ broken down physically and
morally. '' Oh! Doctor, there is no friendship in
the world," he exclaimed, '' and women are only
devils in disguise."

"But what is the matter?" I inquired.

" I thought I had arranged everything," he
sobbed out, '''but it has all gone wrong, and it will
surely kill me. So much for disobeying the com-
mands of the Prophet ! I found the man and they
were married, but they have fallen in love with
each other and he refuses to divorce her according
to his agreement. I have lost my wife and my
child forever. My heart is broken, I shall die, if
you do not give me something to prevent it."

I invoked the soothing properties of the bromide
of potassium, and left him to his reflections on the
dangers of champagne, the inconstancy of women,
and the unreliability of human fi^iendship.

In about a month's time he paid me another
visit, looking as smiling as possible, and as proud
as Lucifer himself.

"Congratulate me," he said, "for it is all ar-
ranged, and I am a happy man once more."

" So your wife has returned to you?"

" Not at all ; she stuck to the other fellow, and
I have a new wife, and a far handsomer one, I
assure you. Finding myself very lonely, I bor-
rowed the money and bought a wife."

" Bought a wife ! What do you mean ?"

" Yes, I went to Fatma, the lady who supplies
the Khedive's hareera, told her precisely what I

m THREE CONTINENTS. 429

wanted and how. mucli I could pa}^ and she sokl
me a nice Circassian girl, to whom I was married
on yesterday. Don't you think I have done well?
She only cost me five hundred francs^ and I find
her handsome and very amiable. I think I shall
love her child as much as the one I have lost,
though I still miss little Minta dreadfully at
times."

I congratulated him, of course, as I was pleased
to see him restored to health and happiness after
so painful an adventure^ which, unfortunately, had
its inception at my table.

There is a class. of men who make it their voca-
tion to marry and divorce women under such cir-
cumstances. They are called mitstohalls , and are
conspicuous for their ugliness or deformity, so as
to give no apprehension to those by whom they are
employed of a denouement, such as actually oc-
curred in the case which I have just related.
They demand always a handsome dowry, which
they retain as a reward for their services in thus
filling up chasms of domestic infelicity by bring-
ing divorced wives and repentant husbands to-
gether again.

The wealthier classes sometimes make use of a
slave to officiate in this character, and the blacker
and uglier he is, the more he is in request. The
marriage takes place in the presence of witnesses,
€i dowry is given to legalize it, and it is duly
consummated, so that the slave becomes both
de jure and de facto the husband of the divorced
woman. The slave is then presented to her_, and
the moment that .he becomes her property the mar-
riage is i^^so facto dissolved, and she is free to
marry her original spouse or whoever she pleases.
My friend was not rich enough to employ a miisto-
hall or a slave, and had consequently to appeal to

430 A doctor's experiexces

a friend, who deceived liim, and appropriated his
wife in the bargain.

I came near being the cause of a divorce on one
occasion, by simply doing that which I considered
to be demanded by the laws of common politeness.
I was sent for by an old bey of wealth and influ-
ence to visit the youngest of his four wives — a
hazel-eyed, voluptuous-looking Circassian — wha
was suffering from stomatitis, produced by the use
of hennaj a substance in common use among the
women of Egypt, for the staining of their nails,
teeth, the soles of their feet, &c. I found her
seated upon a divan, covered with a habarrah,'^ and,
as a special privilege, I was permitted to introduce
my hand beneath its folds, and to feel her gums.
Prescribing to the best of my ability under these
disadvantageous circumstances, I promised to re-
turn in a few days, and bowed myself out of the
apartment.

On my second visit, by some accident I left my
dragoman at home, and found on my arrival at the
Bey's residence that its master was absent. The
eunuch received me very graciously, however, and
conducted me to the apartment of his mistress^
where I found the patient aw^aiting me. The fair
invalid was unusually complaisant, expressing
much pleasure at my visit, chatting gaily about
her malady, and gradually removing her vail until
she had uncovered her entire face, which I thought
perfectly right, as her mother was present, and as
it euabled me to examine her gums, and to make a
proper application to them. She then ordered cof-
fee and cigarettes, which I accepted, and in the
best Arabic that I could master, made myself as
agreeable as possible, though not getting beyond a

^See Appendix (K).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 431

few common-place expressions taken from the
phrase book.

I was delighted with the manner in which I had
been entertained, and I departed, rejoicing in the
conviction that I had made a good impression upon '
the invalid and had secured the family en perma-
nence as friends and patrons.

At an earlv hour on the succeedino^ mornino; I
received a message from the bey, to the effect that
his wife had gone to the country for a change of
air, and the sum of fifty francs in return for my
professional services. Assured at once that some-
thing was wrong, I sent Achmed around to pre-
sent my compliments and to ascertain the nature of
the difficulty. He soon returned, looking as pale
as a ghost, and frightened nearly out of his wits.

'' Oh, Doctor!" he exclaimed, as he entered my
office, "the Bey is terribly angry with you. He is
going to visit the Khedive to complain that you
haA^e insulted him, and to ask for redress. He says
that you shall be driven out of the country for the
great outrage which you perpetrated in his house
on yesterday You are in serious trouble. I am
so sorry that I was not with you."

" I was as polite and as respectful as possible on
yesterday. I conducted myself as a gentleman and
a physician in every way. Of what does the old
fool complain ?"

'' He says that you violated the Mohammedan
law — that you offered an insult to the religion and
the customs of the country, and he swears by the
beard of the Prophet that you shall be punished for
it. He has already punished his wife."

"Punished his wife? What does it all mean?"

" His wife uncovered herself before you, did she
not?"

" Yes, but I had nothing to do with her uncover-

432 A doctor's experiexces

ing herself. She did it of her own volition. What
have I done, I should like to know ?"

^' You looked at her face ; you saw her mouth
and the hack of her head."

^' Of course, but how could I helj) seeing her face
and head when she uncovered them? As for her
mouth, it is what I wanted to see. Was there
any crime in seeing what was before my eyes — in
looking at what I was sent for to treat?"

"Yes, Doctor, according to the Mohammedan
law, it was a crime to look at them, and especially
at her mouth and head. You have defiled her by
gazing on them, and have placed your life even
at the mercy of her husband."

''A crime to look at her face ! Defiled her by
seeing her mouth and head ! What loas I to do
when she uncovered herself and exposed them to
view f

''It was your solemn duty to turn j'our back
upon her, and then to walk to the corner of the
room and hold your face there until she recovered
herself. That is what our law and customs de-
mand under such circumstances ; and it is for not
"doing that precise thing that the old man is angry,
and is going to report you to his highness."

Well, let him report as soon as he pleases.
His highness has lived in Christian countries, and
he knows that to turn one's back on a lady is an
offense that no gentleman would think of commit-
ting. I am not in the least alarmed. But you
say he has punished his wife. What has he done
to her?"

"Oh, yes, he has punished her. I heard both her
and her mother wailing, and the eunuch told me
that the Bey had said to her, "I divorce you," tioice,
and had ordered her to his country place on pro-
bation for six months, when he would decide

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 433

whether or not to make the divorce absolute by re-
peating it the third time. Nothing but the prayers
of her mother has prevented him from divorcing
her at once and absolutely."

" Then come with me, I will pay him a visit, and
after having explained my conduct, having shown
him that as a Christian and a gentleman I could not
turn my back on a lady, I will intercede for the
poor woman."

''AH right, your excellency. I think that the
best course to pursue."

I drove at once to the house of the bey, where I
was met by the eunuch with many salaams, pro-
fessions of friendship, and the assurance that his
master was not at home. ''That is all right,"
said I, slipping a ten-franc piece in his itching
palm. "I will aAvait his return." I was im-
mediately invited into the house, given a cup of
coffee and a pipe, and overwhelmed with politeness,
while the master was produced after so brief a
delay as to assure me that he had been at home
all the time.

Talk about French politeness ! It is no more to
be compared to that of an Oriental than a mustard
seed to a pumpkin. The old bey was as suave and
as obsequious as if I had been the Khedive himself.
Although he would have been pleased to thrown
me in the Nile, he actually embraced me, and
declared that he and his household were my friends
and slaves. As w^e sipped our coffee together, I
made Achmed explain that, never having lived
in a Mohammedan country before, I was ignorant
of its customs, and that in Christian lands it was
regarded as a breach of civility to turn one's back
on a lady, especially on the wife of a great man and
an esteemed friend. He professed to be more than
satisfied, begged me never to think of the occur-
28

434 A doctor's experiences

rence again, and vowed that no other physiciaB
should ever cross his threshold while 1 remained
in the country.

I then tried to put in a word for the wife, hut,
while he smiled, bowed and looked the very pic-
ture of amiability, he told Achmed in Turkish —
knowing that I did not understand the language
— that if another word was said concerning his
hareem, or if I was informed of the threat that he.was
then making, he (Achmed) should receive the hour-
hashe and be sent to the Soudan, a region which
in Egypt is placed upon the same plane with the
"bottomless pit,'' both as regards climate and a
billet de retour. ^

I could learn nothing respecting the fate of the
unfortunate wife, and I never saw or heard of the
Bey again while I remained in Egypt.

It seems that with many women the mouth and
the back of the head are the pieces de resistance ,
and that the face is vailed for the especial pur-
pose of guarding their features against masculine
observation ; this exposure being regarded as the
ultima tliule of pollution, especially if the woman be
a wife.

Though the women of the hareem live only in an
atmosphere of intrigue, their experience in that re-
gard is usually confined to plots and aspirations.
Guarded by mercenary eunuchs, separated from the
world by every barrier that jealousy can invent^
and confrontecl by the certainty of punishment in
the event of discovery, the current of their lives is
seldom stirred by the ripple of a real adventure.

Nevertheless, it sometimes happens even in
Eastern lands that "love laughs at locksmiths," and
finds a way to fruition in spite of unsympathizing
eunuchs and impotent husbands.

As an illustration of this fact, I will tell you a.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 435

story as it was told to me by an old Cairoan, who
vouched for its correctness.

A few years since a young bey — the son of a rich
and influential pasha — became enamored of a lady
occupying a high position in the hareem of a great
j)ersonage, and his passion was reciprocated. De-
spite the difficulties and dangers of the situation,
they succeeded in securing a few hurried interviews,
and- they deluded themselves with the belief that
their secret was exclusively confined to their trusted
and sympathizing attendants.

She started out one night in her carriage, os-
tensibly to attend the opera — where a private en-
trance and a latticed box had been constructed for
the convenience of women occupying a certain
position in society — accompanied by three eunuchs,
one with the coachman and the other two on iiorse-
back as outriders. As the cortege passed a certain
secluded spot in the neighborhood of the palace
it halted for an instant, and a muffled figure
emerged from the obscurity and entered the car-
riage, instead of taking the direction of the opera
house it kept straight on by the Esbeekyah garden,
over the canal bridge, and into the Choubra road,
on the opposite side of Cairo. It had just reached
the rows of acacias which adorn either side of that
great thoroughfare, when a small detachment of
policemen sprang from behind the trees, seized the
bridles of the horses, and stopped the carriage.
Then, having spoken a few words to the affrighted
lovers and astonished eunuchs, they carried the
entire party to the private entrance of Zapteih — the
principal police station of the city.

No trial was permitted, but a sentence was pro-
nounced— and a very speedy and fearful one. The
eunuch and the coachman disappeared — they were
doubtless tied up in sacks and thrown into the

436 A doctor's experiences

Nile ; while tlie bey was forced into the ranks of
a regiment en route to Khartoum, and the lady,
despoiled of her silks and jewels, stripped of her
vail, and clad in the dress of a peasant, was forced
to marry a negro soldier — or, in other words, to
become his cook and washerwoman for the re-
mainder of her days.

I cannot vouch for this story, but my friend de-
clared it to be true, and I have absolute confidence
in his reliability.

Family life is in reality unknown among Mus-
sulmans. The law of the Koran^ which divides
mankind into two distinct classes — males and fe-
males— does not permit the existence of a famil}^
in which each member lives the same life and
forms a part of one harmonious menage. The men
have separate ideas, habits and interests, while the
women have others, appertaining exclusively to
themselves. Thus, persons who nominally form a
part of the same family have absolutely nothing
in common — neither apartments, goods, furniture
nor friends. *

The selamlik and the hareem are virtually two
separate establishments, in which each occupant
does just what it pleases him or her self^ — within
the limits prescribed by Mohammedan etiquette
and usage.

The system of segregation upon which Mussul-
man family life is based^ influenced by the para-
mount law of self-interest, gives rise to a singular-
ity which is remarkable. The women on their side
have their own private affairs. They entertain
their friends ; they have their own receptions, and
they amuse themselves in their own fashion, and to
the extent allowed by their vigilant guardians, the
eunuchs. In the selamlik the pasha, his friends, de-
pendents, visitors and guests do the same things,

IN THREfe CONTINENTS. " 43*7

spend their time in talking politics, intriguing,
gossiping, and amusing themselves according to
the bent of their inclinations. In a word, the men
and the women live virtually apart, having no
sentiments or interests or aspirations in common,
each trying to get all the enjoyment possible out
of life, without taking heed of the existence of the
other.

It is generally about 11 p. m. when the pasha
definitely retires to the hareem. He is received at
the threshold by the eunuch, who awaits his ap-
proach with lights in each hand, and then pre-
cedes him through the entrance hall to the apart-
ment of his favorite wife or his concubine.

At the time of rising in the morning\he is at-
tended by slaves who assist at his toilet and ablu-
tions^ and when these are completed, he remains
for a few moments in the hareem to talk with the
members of his family on any subject that may in-
terest them, and then hastens to join his friends
and attendants in his own apartment, within which
the females of his family seldom intrude them-
selves.

It is only during the brief period in which he
lingers in the hareem that the ''family circle" has
any real existence — for the rest of the time it exists
only in name.

Such is the prejudice existing among Moham-
medans against the association of the sexes that a
woman is considered absolutely defiled after her
face has been seen by one who has not the right to
look upon it, or has even spoken to a man ; and it
is unlawful to bury a female and a male in the
same tomb without building a stone wall between
them, upon the assumption, doubtless, that —

"E'en in their ashes hve their wonted fires."

438 A doctor's experiences

LETTER XXX.

EGYPTIAN EXPEEIEXCES.

My Dear Doctor :

We were formally presented to the Khedive, who
received us w^ith great cordiality^ and remarked
that he hoped we should never have cause to re-
gret our connection wdth his service, and justice to
that great man constrains me to say that his con-
duct was characterized by a spirit of genuine kind-
ness and absolute liberality during the entire period
of my residence in Egypt.

No man has been more abused than Ismail
Pasha,* and yet impartial history will place him
in the first rank of rulers and statesmen. The ut-
ter ruin which has fallen upon his country since
his abdication, compared wdth its prosperous con-
dition wdien he controlled its destinies, speaks with
a trumpet's tongue in his behalf. Forced to abdi-
cate because his genius and patriotism w^ere stum-
bling-blocks in the way of England's '^foreign
policy," a systematic effort has been made to tra-
duce him, in order to demonstrate the wisdom of
hir removal. But the great work which he did in
Egypt, together with the complete chaos and de-
moralization which have followed his removal, will
eventually be accepted as his vindication ; and the
time will come — and speedily — when his restora-
tion to power will be regarded as the only practi-

*8ee Appendix (L).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 439

€al solution of the Egyptian question, as the sole
means of re-establishing peace and prosperity to
that distracted country. His son and successor,
Tewfick Pasha, I met frequently, and know
well. A more loyal gentleman does not live, but
he is inherently weak and vacillating. Willing to
make any sacrifice for his country, but influenced
by the last man who has his ear, he is utterly in-
capable of elaborating or of maintaining a policy of
his own. Emphatically a Turk, and wedded to
the traditions of the past, he derives his inspira-
tions exclusively from the Koran. With him as a
ruler, progress and enlightenment are impossibili-
ties in Egypt, and the country can only gravitate
downward toward absolute Mohammedanism, watli
its concomitant ignorance, superstition and intol-
erance.

Arabi Pasha has been accepted as a patriot and a
hero by those who are ignorant of his character, and
misinformed in regard to the real condition of
Egypt.

Circumstances, it is true, gave some color to his
pretensions as an apostle of liberty and the cham-
pion of an oppressed people, but he is intrinsically
corrupt and incapable of a sentiment untainted by
egotism and selfishness.

It is said that he was once drummed out of his
regiment for peculation, and, though he is a bold
man, his character is polluted by vices of the low-
est and the most degraded nature. The people
rallied around him because of his agrarian princi-
ples, and from the conviction that he desired to es-
tablish a regime more decidedly Egyptian than that
of the Khedive himself, that is to say, more big-
oted, contracted and fanatical than is possible un-
der the existing order of things

Had Ismail reigned at the time, there would

440 A DOCTORS EXPERIENCES

have been no necessity for English intervention ^
for, with the first overt act of rebellion, Arabi
would have been sent to rusticate in the arid wastes
of the Soudan or to feed the fishes of the Nile
nearer home.

It is Arabi who is really responsible for his
country's ruin, since he furnished the opportunity
to England for that active intervention in Egj^ptian
afi'airs which she had so long and impatiently
waited for — that excuse for seizing and holding the
country of which she so gladly availed herself un-
der the color of avenojino; the so-called massacre of
Alexandria, and of protecting the Khedive against
his rebellious subjects. Viewed therefore from
every possible standpoint, the abdication of Ismail
Pasha has been an unmixed calamity to Egypt —
the Pandora box from which the direst calamities
have been let loose upon that unfortunate country.

Ismail is still in the prime of a vigorous man-
hood. Having avoided the excesses which have-
hurried so many of his predecessors to untimely
graves, his powers of mind and body have suffered
no impairment. With his lofty ambition, his im-
perious will, his indomitable energy, his subtle
statesmanship and his profound knowledge of the
necessities of his country, and of the charac-
ter of its people, he has, in my opinion, a grand
role still before him. The great powers of Europe,
wearying of the criminal fiasco which is being
played upon the banks of the Nile, must soon arise
in their majesty and compel the only solution which
common sense and sound diplomacy dictate — the
immediate restoration of this w^onderful man ta
the throne which he once so signally adorned by
his wisdom, courage, enlightenment and thorough
knowledge of the necessities of his countrymen.

It has been urged that Ismail is ambitious ; that

m THREE CONTINENTS. 441

he conquered the Soudan, attempted to annex Abys-
sinia and desired to buikl up a great African em-
pire, with himself as its supreme dictator. This is
undoubtedly true. Such was his dream. But the
ambition was a noble one, for it meant the reclama-
tion of millions of untutored savages from barbar-
ism— the unfurling of the standard of civilization
and good government over vast territories which
otherwise must remain under the dominion of ig-
norance, superstition and fanaticism for centuries
to come. Surely his was a wiser and a grander
jjolicy than tiiat which the statesmen of Downing
street have proclaimed — the entire abandonment
of the Soudan and of the central African provinces
to their native population, and the curtailment of
the blessings of civilization to the restricted limits
of lower and upper Egypt.

It is better far to have Ismail Pasha upon the
Khedival throne, with all his ambition — with as
capacious an empire as his fondest dreams may
have mapped out — than to see the light of civiliza-
tion extinguished for ever in the vast regions which
he has already reclaimed by the expenditure of such
a stream of blood, and with such great benefits to
their people and to the world at large^ simply that
England may be saved the expense of guarding so
extensive a line of frontier against a hostile popu-
lation.

He has been accused of ruling with the Kour-
hacJie alone, and of oppressing his people. I only
know that, under his domination, the blessings of
education were brought to the door of every man
in the country ; that religious freedom was inaugu-
rated from Aboukir to Wadi Haifa ; that canals
and railroads were constructed to an extent that
had never been dreamed of before ; that the area
of arable land was increased by millions of acres ;

442 A DOCTORS EXPERIENCES

that the wealth of Egypt was augmented a hun-
dred fold ; that slavery was abolished and the slave
trade, in a great measure, suppressed ; that thou-
sands of foreigners, with talents and material wealth,
were attracted to the country and induced to con-
tribute to its prosperity ; that a stimulus was given
to manufactures and to the art of husbandry un-
precedented in its influence and consequences ; that
a land which he found a cheerless desert was con-
verted into a smiling garden, and that a people
whom he first knew as a race of nomads were
transformed into a nation, and given a position of
honor and influence in the world. I only know
that, since his expulsion, civilization has retro-
graded a decade ; that brigandage has taken the
place of peaceful industry; that rapine and mur-
der stalk red-handed through the provinces ; that
poverty has usurped the place of prosperity ; that
the people generally have become utterly discon-
tented and demoralized, and that Egypt has lost
all of the prestige and position which she once pos-
sessed.

Shortly after our arrival Ismail Pasha was sum-
moned hurriedly to Constantinople, and left Egypt
without having given the necessary orders for our
, assignment to duty. Having therefore nothing to
do, I accepted an invitation from General Loring,*
and spent several weeks with him at Gabara.

I never passed a more agreeable summer. It is
true that the midday heat was oppressive to those
who ventured out of doors, but, ensconced under
the shelter of the grand veranda, we smoked our
pipes or drank our iced champagne, or regaled our-
selves with watermelons from the Ionian Isles and
fruits from the Gabara gardens, or fought over the

*See Appendix (X).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 443

battles of the war, or talked of our distant homes
and mutual friends, without realizing even that the
sun shone, while the mornings and evenings were
cooled by a breeze from the sea that brought
strength and refreshment in its every breath.

During this visit I met for the first time General
Sibley^ the inventor of the tent which bears his
name, and a soldier who had made his mark in
three armies — that of the United States, of the
Confederacy and of the Khedive of Egypt.

Under his arduous duties his health had com-
pletely broken down, and I found him a hopeless
invalid in the protestant hospital, just beyond the
walls of Alexandria. Acting on my advice, he
resigned his commission and returned home — to
spend the remainder of a life, which began so well,
in poverty and valetudinarianism.

I also met there my old friend. Colonel Walter
Jenifer, the real hero of Ball's Bluff, who, after
distinguishing himself as an ^' inspector of cav-
alry"— an office for which his tastes and education
pre-eminently fitted him — was ordered to report
for duty to the commander of Alexandria, who had
no cavalry in his command, and was thus forced to
pass his days in inaction and repining. He re-
signed soon afterward and there was consequently
lost to Egypt one of the best officers and truest
gentlemen that ever entered her service.

General Frank Reynolds, familiarly known as
^^Old Gauley," from his gallant defense of a
bridge over a river of that name in Western Vir-
ginia, and his son. Colonel Frank Reynolds, were
also aids to General Loring, and occupied quarters
in the palace. They were fine specimens of South-
ern gentlemen and soldiers — as brave as lions, per-
fectly accomplished in their profession, genial in
their dispositions, elegant in their manners, and

444 A doctor's experiences

wanting for nothing save an opportunity to distin-
guish themselves and to win the promotion which
they so much coveted. By a strange fatality, first
the son, and then the father, died suddenly, the
one in America and the other in Egypt, to the sor-
row of their friends and to the misfortune of the
country in which they had taken service.

Major Campbell, of Tennessee, another gallant
Southern soldier, was also a member of General
Loring's staff, and with him I passed many a
pleasant hour. Shortly afterward he was ordered
to join General Gordon in Central Africa, but,
having contracted a fatal malady at Gondokora,
he was forced to attempt to return to Cairo for
medical treatment, but died at Khartoum, where
he was faithfully nursed and tenderly buried by
the Sisters of Charity, who have a convent there.
Campbell had originally been a naval officer, first
in the service of the United States and afterward
in that of the Confederacy, and had greatly dis-
tinguished himself before he went to Egypt. A
more gallant and loyal man never lived, and I
mourned his loss as if he had been my own brother.
I attempted to take care of his effects, but failed in
the effort. After packing his valuables in a trunk
I placed it, with several of my own, in the hands
of a native officer, who promised to guard them
until they could be sent for, and kept his word by
breaking them open, appropriating their contents,
and then sending them to the vacant house in the
Dowhadieh, which I had used as my dispensary.
I placed also in the hands of this individual a
number of family portraits, which he pretended to
hang upon the walls of his house for safe keeping
and ended by selling them for what they would
bring. I actually had to repurchase several of
these portraits, while the most valuable — that of

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 445

my elder daughter — could never be found. When
questioned by the American consul^ he simply de-
clared that he had never seen either trunks or pic-
tures, and that their loss did not concern him in
the least. Such is Mohammedan honesty when
the property of Christians is concerned!

The only thing of value which escaped his jdII-
fering fingers was a wedding-vail, which had orig-
inally cost a thoLisand dollars and was the gift of
old Mr. James C. Johnstone to my wife. That,
fortunately, happened to be enveloped in a child's
calico dress, and eluded the search of my friend
and comrade, much to our delight, as you may im-
agine.

With the return of the Khedive, I hastened to
Cairo, and was rejoiced by the immediate issue of
an order assigning me to duty as the '^ chief sur-
geon of the general staff," which gave me work
to do, and enabled me to draw my pay and allow-
ances.

My first important patient was the assistant
minister of war, to whom I was sent by a formal
order from the ministry.

On arriving at the sick man's house, I found a
number of physicians assembled, as a formal ''con-
•sultation " had been commanded, and I thus had
an opportunity of learning the meaning of that
term as it is understood in Egypt. After an ex-
change of compliments and a cup of coffee,* we
were ushered into the sick chamber, and each phy-
sician— beginning with the youngest and ending
with the eldest — proceeded to make sach an exam-
ination as his judgment suggested. We then ad-
journed to the garden, where an exchange of views
was had. Each doctor in turn — beginning again

*See Appendix (M).

446 A doctor's experiences

with the youngest — gave a lecture on medicine
generally, parading all the knowledge which he
possessed but scarcely touching the case, and ended
by declaring that the ''patient was paralyzed, and
should be blistered and given calomel."

When my turn came I declined to say a word
until I had heard from all the rest — putting it
upon the ground of politeness — and finally aston-
ished them by the announcement that the Pasha was
not paralyzed in the least, but was suffering from
rheumatism accompanied by great prostration, and
that the treatment indicated was the iodide of pot-
ash and proper nourishment. With one voice they
exclaimed: "Not paralyzed! He can't move a
muscle. Kheumatism! He has not a symptom.
Nourishment ! He will die if you attempt to feed
him."

1 then invited them into the chamber, and, by
much persuasion, induced the patient to change
the position of each limb by an effort of will,
pointed out the symptoms of rheumatism which
were present, and told them that " if a patient
who had been purged with salts and fed exclu-
sively on a soup made of vegetables for two weeks
did not require nourishment, I knew nothing
about medicine." They, then, to a man, appar-
ently changed their views, agreed with me en-
tirely, and, promising that my plan of treatment
should be faithfully pursued, invited me to meet
them again at the same hour on the succeeding
day. 1 was triumphant; I thought my victory
complete; and I believed that I had saved the
Pasha from the grave to which his medical attend-
ants were fast consigning him.

On the following day I repaired to the pasha's
house, ready for the "consultation," and believing
that I should be able to point out decided evidence

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 447

of improvement in his condition. Judge therefore
of my suprise when I discovered not a sign of life
about the premises, when no doctors put in an ap-
pearance and when I ascertained that the invalid
and his entire family had been spirited away, no
one could tell me whither.

The pretended change of views among the doctors,
the proposition to meet them in another "consul-
tation," and the removal and concealment of the
piatient, were all parts of a cunning ruse to get rid
of me, and to treat the pasha according to their o\vn
ideas. It was in vain that I appealed to the min-
ister of war; for my confreres had forestalled me,
and convinced his excellency the course pursued
was necessary for the invalid's safety — that my
plan of treatment involved his certain death, and
justified the employment of the most extreme
measures to keep him out of my hands. Such is
medical etiquette on the banks of the Nile. This
was their day of triumph — mine came afterward.

A short time subsequent to-i^his event I was
summoned hurriedly to a '^ consultation" at the
house of Kassim Pasha — the patient being no less
a person than the minister of war himself. He
was suffering from hernia, the intestine having
descended into the scrotum, and become incarce-
rated there. I advised that he should be put under
the influence of chloroform, that taxis should then
be attempted, and that the o]3eration of herniotomy
should be instantl}^ performed if all other means
failed to effect reduction. My advice was rejected
of course, and I immediately retired. Three days
afterward I was again summoned, to find that re-
duction had not been effected and that symptoms of
strangulation — stercoraceous vomiting and great
depression — had manifested themselves.

After a thorough examination of the case I be-

448 A doctor's experie^t'es

came convinced that the incarcerated intestine was
not materially injured, and that much of the de-
pression was due not so much to the disease as to
the injections of tobacco, which had been liberally
employed to induce relaxation, and I boldly declared
that the pasha could be saved, as desperate as his
condition seemed. Having stimulated him freely
with brandy and water — which the natives con-
sidered unholy treatment — I had the gratification
of seeing some reaction established ; and I deter-
mined to administer chloroform, and then either to
reduce the tumor by taxis, or to perform heriotomy^
as the circumstances required. I found however
great difficulty in inducing any medical man to
assist me. They all retired, and declared that tlie3'
would have "nothing to do with the murder of the
Pasha." The hareem, through the chief eunuch,
insisted that I should not proceed until the private
physician of the Khedive * — a Frenchman — had
given his consent. He was accordingly sent for,
and asked what he thought of the measure which
I had proposed ? He rej)lied that he " believed the
pasha would die inevitably, but was in favor of
permitting me to proceed, as every man was en-
titled to his chance." I then requested him to aid
me to the extent of administering chloroform. This
he agreed to do on condition that I would assume
all the responsibility of the case, and give him time
to dispatch a messenger to the Khedive to inform him
upon what terms he had consented to aid me. In the
presence of all the principal pashas, beys, and
officials of the court, the minister was removed
from his bed and placed upon a mattress in the
middle of the room. None of the female portion of
the household were present ; but they were repre-

See Ax3penclix (0).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 449

sented by the chief eunuch, who stood at the feet of
the invalid, shouting, ^' Allah ! Allah! Allah!
Inshallah ! Inshallah ! Inshallah ! while from
the latticed hareem in the rear there came con-
tinually that peculiar wail which seems to form the
principal feature in the mourning of the East.
With the exception of the French physician, all the
surgeons deserted the chamber and stood in the
little garden outside of the house^some praying
that the sick man might be saved, but the majority
cursing the stranger who had the temerity to un-
dertake that which they had pronounced impossible.

At this moment an American officer of high
position took me aside and said: ^'Dr. Warren,
consider well what you are undertaking ; success
means honor and fortune for you in this country,
while failure means ruin to you and injury to
those who are identified with you."

I replied : '' 1 thank you for your caution, but I
was taught by my father to disregard all personal
considerations in the practice of medicine, and to
think only of the interests of my patients. I shall,
therefore, do that which my professional duty re-
quires, and let the consequences take care of them-
selves."

Having made all the preparations necessary to
perform herniotomy, should that operation become
necessary, I boldly administered chloroform, al-
though the patient was in a state of great depres-
sion. To my delight aneesthesia was promptly de-
veloped^ while the circulation improved with every
inspiration — just as I had previously observed in
some cases of shock upon the battle-field. Confid-
ing the administration of the chloroform to the
French physician, I then proceeded to examine the
tumor and to attempt its reduction. I found an
immense hydrocele, and, by the side of it, a hernia
29

450 A doctor's experiences

of no unusual dimensions, which, by a rather forci-
ble manipulation, I completely reduced after a
few moments of effort. By this time the surgeons,
unable to restrain their curiosity, had entered the
room and crowded around the couch of the sick
man, anxiously awaiting the failure which they
had so blatantly predicted. Turning to Mehemit
Ali Pasha^ the professor of surgery in the medical
school of Cairo, I said to him : •' The hernia is re-
duced, as you can determine by pushing your finger
into the external ring."

''Excuse me," he said, in the most supercilious
manner, ''you have undertaken to cure Kassim
Pasha, and I can give you no help in the matter."

My French friend immediately introduced his
finger into thering and said : ""Gentlemen, he needs
no help from any one ; the hernia is reduced, and
the pasha is saved."

The doctors slunk away utterly discomfited, the
eunuchs, pashas, beys, and officers uttered loud
cries of " Hamdallah ! Hamdallah ! Kismet! Kis-
met! Kismet!" and the hareem in the rear, catch-
ing the inspiration of the scene, sent up a shout of
joy which sounded like the war-whoop of a tribe of
Indians.

In a moment I was seized by the chief eunuch,
embraced in the most impressive manner, and
kissed on either cheek — an example which was im-
mediately followed by a number of those present —
and I found myself the most famous man in Egypt.
The Pasha at once had a letter addressed to the
Khedive narrating the circumstances, and asking
that I might be decorated and made a bey. His
highness sent for me, thanked me warmly for hav-
ing saved the life of his favorite minister, and
stated that he had ordered that I should be made a
bey, and receive the decoration of the Medidjieh.

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 451

The liareem presented me with a beautiful gold
watch and chain ; my house was thronged for sev-
eral davs afterward with the his^hest dio^nitaries of
the country, who came to thank and congratulate
me ; and I immediately secured an immense prac-
tice, including every incurable case in Cairo.

To make assurance doubly sure, and to prevent
the possibility of trickery on the part of my con-
freres^ I took up my residence in his palace, carry-
ing William with me, and, for two weeks, never
permitted the Pasha to be out of the sight of one
of us, except when his wife visited him^ as I knew
that my baffled and jealous colleagues would hesi-
tate at nothing to rob me of the fruits of my vic-
tory.

Kassim Pasha was a Greek by birth, having
been captured when a boy and sold into slavery.
He subsequently embraced the Mohammedan faith,
and, by the force of his will and intellect rose to
be the minister of war of Egypt, and, next to the
Khedive, the most important man in the country.
He had but one wife, but his hareem was filled with
female slaves, twelve of whom waited on him con-
tinually during his illness, and were rewarded
afterward by being given in marriage to twelve
young men selected from the retinue of the Pasha,
each receiving a handsome c^o^ on her wedding day.

When the wife visited him — as she did twice
daily — I was conducted into an adjoining chamber,
and was never permitted to see her, though she
sent a messenger every morning to inquire after
my health, and to present her thanks and compli-
ments. She subsequently became quite intimate
with the female members of my family, who assured
me that she was a charming woman, handsome in
person, refined in manners^ devoted to her husband,
and fitted to grace any court in the world. Un-

452 A doctor's EXPEIilEXCES

fortunately they had no children, and the heir ap-
parent of their titles and estates was a young scape-
grace named Askalon-Bey, the nephew of the
Pasha, who, though a Christian by birth and edu-
cation, had turned Mussulman for the sake of the
inheritance. He spent his days in idleness and dis-
sipation, much to the sorrow of his relations, who
had sought him in his own country and brought
him to Egypt, as a solace and support in their de-
clining years.

Kassim Pasha recovered perfectly, and a short
time afterward was made governor of Cairo, in
order to make room in the war office for Houssein
Pasha, the second son of the Khedive, and a young
man of much ability and promise.

During the entire period of my residence in Egypt
I found Kassim a warm friend and a powerful j^ro-
tector, and I am convinced that but for him my
bones would be to-day bleaching in the sands of
the desert or moldering in some jungle of Central
Africa.

Shortly after my departure from Cairo he was
seized with an apoplectic fit, and died after a few
hours, without recovering consciousness. Moham-
medan as he was, there beat a kind and loyal heart
in his bosom, and in the "great day" of final
judgment, it seems to me, he will have as good
a show for favor and forgiveness as some of the so-
called saints in the calendar. ^^Bequiescatin j^cwe.'^

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 453

LETTER XXXI.

EGYPTIAN EXPERIENCES.

My Dear Doctor :

Among those who subsequently fell into my
hands as patients was the aforesaid assistant min-
ister of war, who was so near death's door from the
treatment which he had received from his doctors
that I undertook his case with many apprehensions
for the result, and only on condition that none of
the ''consultants" should visit him again. I am
pleased to be able to state that after a long struggle
he " pulled through," and manifested his gratitude
by a handsome present in Egyptian pounds.

I was also called to a pasha — one of the wealthiest
and best-connected in Egypt — who had been for a
long time insane. As he was suffering from gen-
eral paralysis there was nothing to be done for
him, but his case proved very interesting, as I
learned from it the peculiar ideas of the people of
that country in regard to persons of deficient or
defective intellect. The popular belief is that an
idiotic or an insane man is the special favorite of
God, and that his soul had been translated to
heaven and his body left behind for the special
care and veneration of his friends and family. He
is, therefore, overwhelmed with kindnesses, and,
in fact, he is worshiped as a saint by all around
him. The strangest part of the superstition in re-
gard to these poor unfortunates is, that relations
with them are regarded as an infallible cure for

454 A doctor's experiences

barrenness in women, and that they are ipso facto
hallowed in the sight of men and heaven. It is
not believed that conception is the result of such
an embrace, bat that the physical condition which
interferes with the husband's aspirations is re-
moved by it, and the way prepared for legitimate
impregnation. When it is born in mind that the
state of pregnancy is esteemed one of special honor
and privilege — that no wife can be divorced during
its existence, and no slave can be sold who has
given birth to a child — it is easy to understand the
estimation in which a lunatic* is held in that
country.

Many a lazy and impecunious wretch among the
lower classes takes advantage of this superstition to
affect insanity and to assume the saintly role^ so
that he may be clothed, fed and tenderly nursed
by the women of his neighborhood for the remain-
der of his days. Indeed, lunacy is about as "short
a road ' ' to ease and independence as can be con-
ceived of, and it is not surprising that it should be
followed as a vocation under the circumstances.

I had quite an amusing adventure with Amein
Pasha, who was minister of war under Abbas
Pasha, t and one of the principal instruments of his
cruelty and oppression. He lived in a magnificent
palace, on the island of Khoda, and, though he had
been blind for twenty years, he sent for me and
ordered me to cure him. I told him frankly that
I could not relieve him, but he insisted on treat-
ment, and I was compelled to gratify his wishes,
and to do something for his eyes, though both pu-
pils and retina3 were absolutely insensible to light.
While treating him, his youngest daughter, a beau-
tiful girl of sixteen, was attacked with typhoid

*See Appendix (P). f^^^ee Appendix (Q).

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 455

fever, and as he loved lier dearly and regarded
me as inspired — the embodiment of Kismet"^ — he
placed her under my professional charge. She
fortunately recovered after several weeks of severe
illness, and though I did not restore his sight, I
necessarily had a large medical bill against him.
When the first of the year arrived, I sent him his
bill, with a polite note calling his attention to it,
and requesting its payment. To my astonishment,
his luakeel appeared at my house on the next day,
the bearer of an indignant protest from his master
against being '^ dunned as a fellah," and the state-
ment that my charge was excessive^ as he could
prove by every slave on the premises that I had
not paid more than half a dozen visits during the
year. I was in a state of utter perplexity, and
seeking James Sanua, my Arabic teacher, I stated
the matter to him and requested an explanation.
He informed me that I had committed a great
breach of etiquette in sending a bill to a pasha, as
it was not the custom of the country to do so, and
that every man of position considered it his privi-
lege to resist anything like a '^ claim" against him.
I therefore had a polite note written to his excel-
lency, expressing great regret at the mistake which
had been made in sending a bill '^to so distin-
guished a person," and assuring him that he owed
me nothing, but that I considered it a great honor
to prescribe for him and his family. Some weeks
afterward his ivakeel paid another visit to my
house, bringing with him a larger sum than I had
originally demanded, which he begged me to ac-
cept as a cadeau from his master, " who was very
grateful for my kind attentions to him and his

See Appendix (R).

456 A doctor's experiexces

daughter — whose life he believed T had saved, hy
the heli^ of Allah."

I remembered this lesson, and never again sent
a medical bill to a pasha, and though in one in-
stance the only recompense that I received for
several weeks' attendance was a dried beef tongue,
I was, as a general rule, liberally rewarded for my
professional services.

I was sitting alone in my office, dreadfully de-
pressed in spirits because of the death of our baby,
and only partially recovered from the attack of
ophthalmia, when a courier entered, and informed
me that Houssein Pasha, the minister of war, de-
sired to see me at the earliest possible moment.
Ordering my carriage, and tying a handkerchief
over my suffering eyes, I hurried to the Citadel
and presented myself to the prime minister. He
received me with great kindness, commiserated
with me on the loss of my child and the pain
which I had suffered, and informed me that he had
something to communicate which would '' gladden
my heart," and make me '^forget my sorrows."
I thanked him warmly, and inquired what it was
that he had to communicate. He said that he and
his father had had their eyes on me ever since I
saved the life of Kassim Pasha, and seeing that I
was faithful in the performance of my duty, they
had determined to promote me to the position of
Hakim Bashi Gahadeih, or, in other words, to
make me the chief surgeon of the department of
loar. My heart gave one great bound, and the
tears came unbidden into my eyes, for the position
was the highest that a medical man could attain in
Egypt, and my elevation to it was the greatest
compliment that his highness could pay to any
one. With a bosom overflowing with gratified
pride and a sense of supreme obligation, I ac-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 4ST

cepted the promotion, and assured him tha't, if
L3ya,lty to him and to the Khedive, and devotiaoto-
the duties of the office, could constitute a recom-
pense for the kind consideration which had sug-
gested my selection, there should be no default of
payment upon my part.

He then went on to say that venality had beert
the curse of Egypt, and that it had specially per-
vaded the medical staff of the army, prompting to>
the rejection of the healthiest recruits ; to the fur-
loughing or discharge of the most vigorous sol-
diers, and to the retention upon the muster rolls oF
many who were physically incapable of performing-
military duty. He informed me, likewise, that it
was the Khedive's purpose to add about twent3r
thousand picked men to the army ;* that he de-
sired me to examine personally every recruit,
rejected by the native surgeons, and he shouldl
order before me every soldier who had been fur-
loughed or discharged within two years, and all
who had served for more than fifteen years, in
order that I might restore to the army sudi as.
were in physical condition to perform duty, or dis-
charge from it the really infirm and incompetent.
'^All I ask of you," he added, ''is to do this duty
with the same honesty and fidelity as have charac-
terized your conduct in all other regards since yc^ur
arrival in Egypt."

I obeyed his instructions to the letter, subjecting-
every rejected recruit, furloughed or discharged
soldier and dilapidated veteran to the most search-
ing examination — with the result of exposing
many a case of "bribery and corruption," and of
materially increasing the efficiency of the army^
The cunning emjoloyed by those who sought to

See Appendix (S).

458 A DOCTOR S EXPERIEXCES

€va(le the service surpassed anything that I had
ever conceived of, and it was only by the most critical
investigation, and liberal use of chloroform as an
angesthetic, that I was enabled to distinguish be-
tween cases of malingering and of genuine disease.
It was not an uncommon thing, also, for them to
sacrifice an eye or a finger, in the vain hope of
securing exemption, although, since the days of
Mehemet Ali — who formed regiments of one-eyed
and four-fingered men — such mutilations are not
regarded in Egypt as constituting veritable disa-
bilities, while they never fail to invite severe pun-
ishments.

The veterans excited my most profound pity.
When too old or infirm to bear arms, and not rich
enough to purchase discharges, it had been the
custom to consign them to the quarries and to treat
them as criminals for the rest of their days. Could
you have seen them when they were first brought
before me, with their unkept and matted beards,
their bent and emaciated frames, their sightless or
still inflamed eyes and their torn and dirty cloth-
ing— the ver}^ illustration of prolonged suff'ering
■and of utter despair — your heart would have bled
for them as mine did. And then could you have
witnessed the change which came over them, when,
from the lips of the dreaded and hated Christian there
came the words : ^' Let these men be discharged and
sent to their homes," you would have esteemed it a
privilege to be Hakim Bashi Gahadeih, and the
representative of all the power and absolutism of
the great Khedive.

I felt that I was at once doing God's service and
strengthening the hands of the government when
I discharged these men from the army, and I did
it with so liberal a hand that the work in the quar-
ries was actually suspended until a supply of veri-

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 459

table convicts could be had to take the places of
these old soldiers, many of whom were covered
with the wounds which they had received in carry-
ing the standard of Mehemet Ali to the gates of
Stamboul.

Their Hamdallahs still ring pleasantly in my
ears, and if it should ever be my fortune to find a
place in the better land, I shall believe that the
prayers of these stricken and forsaken 0I4 men
helped to purchase it for me. Nothing that I have
6ver done in life has afforded me more satisfaction ,
more real and enduring pleasure, than the libera-
tion of these despairing veterans from the life of
wretchedness to which their age, their infirmities
and their poverty had consigned them.

Before those days there were but two avenues of
escape for the unfortunate wretch whose evil genius
had recorded his name upon the muster-roll of the
Egyptian army, viz: through the golden gate and
through the portals of the tomb, by the purchase
of his discharge or the '^handing in of his chips," in
mining camp phraseology.

Many indirect attempts were rnade to bribe me *
and finally two ofiicers under orders for the Sou-
dan came into my ofiice and proposed to pay me
£100 each for a certificate of disability. I pre-
tended not to understand their propositions, and
instructed Achmed to engage them in conversation
while I hurried to the prime minister to inform him
of what had occurred. He ordered their immediate
arrest, but when I returned with the guard to seize
them they had disappeared and could not be found.

After the lapse of a few weeks the prime minis-
ter informed me that he was in trouble ; that rely-
ing upon the data which I had furnished, he had

See Appendix (T).

460 A DOCTOR S EXPERIENCES

caused the arrest of an officer en route to Khartoum
for ''offering a bribe to the chief surgeon of the
war department," but that the supposed culprit
had protested his innocence, and had appealed to
the Khedive for protection, making out so strong a
case of alibi as to convince his highness that an in-
nocent man had been confounded with a guilty
one. I relieved him somewhat by again describing
the offender, offering to take the entire burden of
responsibility upon my shoulders, and assuring him
that both my dragoman and I C(mld identify the
real offender at a glance.

With great difficulty he induced his father ta
withhold the order for the officer's release, and ta
issue another commanding him to be brought to
Cairo and confronted with me. The prince was in
a state of chronic anxiety until the arrival of the
individual in question, but he acted with great
fairness toward the accused, by placing him in the
midst of a group of officers, and calling upon me
to indicate the guilty party, without furnishing the
slightest guide to his identification.

Neither Achmed nor I had the least difficulty in
pointing out the real offender, and, notwithstand-
ing his oaths, protestations and pretended proofs
of an alibi, he was adjudged guilty by the Khedive,
and punished according to his deserts, i. e., was-
reduced to the ranks and sent to the Soudan.

Shortly after this incident, and just when I con-
sidered myself most firmly established in my place,
an event occurred which showed the uncertainty
of things in Cairo, and demonstrated that I had
both bitter enemies and strong friends at court.
One night at a late hour there was a ring at my
bell, and as the servants had retired I answered it
in person. To my astonishment, I found a high
official at the door, from whose excited manner I

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 461

nt once augured evil tidings, and when lie invited
me to drive on the Shoubra road as he had ^' an im-
portant communication to make," I felt that a
crisis in my fate had -arrived. I joined him at once,
and so soon as we were fairly in the country, he
said to me: " I have something to tell you which I
was afraid to utter '^ within walls." I am just
from the palace, where I have learned that an or-
der will be issued to-morrow assigning you to the
expedition about to start for Darfour, and I have
come to inform you of it, in order that you may
■escape the service if possible."

''To Darfour? Can it be possible? I entered
the service with a distinct understanding that I
should reside in Cairo. I care not so much for the
risk to myself as for the separation from my family.
What has the prince minister to say on the sub-

>'?" . . . .

•' The order will certainly be issued in the morn-
ins". I had it from the Khedive himself. The
histor}^ of the matter is about this : His highness
having been induced to believe that Darfour is rich
in minerals, has for some time been anxious to send
a competent man there to investigate them. Your
name was saggestecl to him a few weeks since, but
the prince minister having opposed it warmly upon
the ground of the value of your services p.s chief
surgeon of his department, the plan was abandoned.
8ince then he has been induced to reconsider the
matter by the representation that you alone can be
trusted with the task ; that your assistant can
carr}^ on the work of your office until your return,
and that you can complete the examination and
return within six months without detriment to
3'ourself, and, regardless of the protest of the min-
ister of war, he has finally concluded to send you.
I assure you, my friend, that it is a settled fact —

462 A doctor's experiences

the order will assuredly be issued to-morrow, and
you must be prepared to meet it. I only wish the
Khedive thoroughly understood the situation and
thought less of you and more of some one else —
some younger man better able to stand a journey
to that pestilential region, which he has been made
to believe is a second California/'

1 took in the whole situation at a glance. I saw
that some craftv enemy had availed himself of the
Khedive's confidence in me to induce him to re-
quire a service which must either be accepted at
the hazard of my life or declined with the cer«
tainty of being dismissed from the army. In a
word, I realized that I had to meet one of the most
serious questions of my life — to baiile an intrigue
which had been elaborated with consummate skill
for the purpose of forcing me to decide between the
alternatives of going to my death in Darfour or of
returning in disgrace to America.

"The case is a desperate one and demands des-
perate measures," I remarked. " This separation
from my wife and family — this leaving them in
Egypt unprotected and friendless — will kill me of
itself. What would you advise, doctor?"

" Yes, it is a serious matter," he answered, ''for,
in my judgment, you will never return from Dar-
four— you will never see your wife and children
again. At your age, and with your susceptibility
to malaria — which the Khedive knows nothing
about, unfortunately — you will die on the journey.
If I were in your place I would resign to-night
through the American consul and place myself
under his protection to-morrow."

'^Alas, my friend, you know nothing about Amer-
ican politics. Nine-tenths of those who are now in
office were appointed when sectional hatred was at a
premium, and they have not yet learned to regard a

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 463^

quondam rebel as an American citizen. The consul ^
though a very amiable man, is a strong partisan,
and he would no more join issue with the Khedive
on my account than he would throw himself into
the Nile. There is no hope from that direction."

'^Then really, my dear doctor, I do not know what
to suggest. I have done all in my power to serve
you. I have warned you at the hazard of my
position and perhaps of my life. Go home and
consult with your wife, and it may be that you and
she together can think out some plan which will
enable you to escape the dangers of the coming
morning."

^' Good night, my kind friend. We are not far
from my house and I will get out and walk home so
as to avoid observation. Be assured that you leave
me with a heavy heart, but one filled with gratis
tude to you for what you have done and risked in
my behalf. I will devote the remainder of the
night to reflection, and with God's help I hope to
find a way out of the difficulties and dangers
which surround me. May heaven remember you
for your kindness to me and to mine."

Neither my wife nor I slept that night, but we
spent its long and lonely hours in consulting on
the situation, and in devising a method for my es-
cape. Before the morning dawned we had elabor-
ated a plan by which we hoped to thwart the ma-
chinations of those who had plotted for my destruc-
tion, and were rejoicing over the blow which was
to fall without warning, as they supposed, on my
devoted head, when the war office opened that
day.

Before the sun rose I sent the ever-faithful
William, with my carriage, to the house of Doctor
Kassim Effendi — the second medical officer of the
war department — praying him to come instantly

464 A DOCTOR S EXPERIEXCES

to my lioase ; and on his arrival I begged liim to
examine and to prescribe for my eye, which was
much inflamed and very painful. Flattered im-
measurably by this mark of confidence on the part
of his chief, he complied with my request in the
OQiost elaborate manner, recommending among
•other measures that I should remain in bed and in
a darkened room for some time to come. ^' Since
you condemn me to remain in bed, Doctor, and
thus render it impossible for me to attend to my
office, I must ask you to take charge of it until I
a,m convalescent," I remarked in the most friendly
manner.

" Certainly, excellence, I will take great pleas-
ure in representing you, and you may rest assured
that everything shall be conducted as you desire,"
-was his flattered response.

'^ Well, that being settled to my satisfaction, I
must ask another favor of you," said I. "It is my
I'ule always to be in my office when the Prince ar-
xives, and official business begins. It is important
that you shall be equally punctual, and in order that
you may be there in time and altogether en regie,
I must ask you to place my name on the " sick re-
port " and to hand it in before the minister arrives,
so that it may be the first official paper acted on
to-da,y. William and my carriage are at your dis-
posal so that there may be no possibility of delay
in this matter, as promptitude is as important to
you as to me."

^' You may count on me, excellence. The pre-
sentation of the ' sick report ' shall be the first
thing done at the Citadel to-day, and I will be in
your office, and at work, when the Prince arrives,"
he answered with enthusiasm, as he started off on
the mission, never dreaming that an order was in
existence which only required the signature of the

IN THREE CONTINENTS. 465

minister to make him the master of the office for
six months to come, and, perhaps, for the remainder
of his days. He kept his promise, and I was re-
ported as being " sick with ophthalmia and incapa-
t)le of performing military duty " before the order
sending me to Darfour had been signed and issued.

The "sick report" is respected in the service of
every civilized nation — including Egypt — and once
enrolled upon i